METHODIST 

CONVENTION 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


//  /- 


^•i^JKf    -'^S,'  T 


METHODISM 


IN  TIIK 


STATE  OF  PENNSYLVANIA, 


AS  REPRESENTED  IN 


STATE    CONVENTION, 


HELD  IN  PHILADELPHIA, 


OCTOBKR    18-20,   1870, 


REPORTED  BY  S.  M.  STILES. 


ISSUED    BY   THE    PUBLISHING   COMMITTEE. 


PHILADELPHIA: 

S.  W.  THOMAS,  Agt. 
MiETHODIST    EPISCOP^Ij   BOOlv    ROOM!, 

No.  1018  A  roll  Street. 


Entered  according  to  act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1S71 ,  l,y 

ROBT.  H.  PATTISON, 

In  tlie  office  of  tlie  Librarian  of  ConKress,  at  Wasliinston. 


PREFACE. 


Methodism  claims  to  liave  had  its  origin  and  growth  provi- 
dentially for  a  specific  purpose.  "  The  philosophy  of  its  his- 
tory "  is  thus  stated  by  its  great  living  historian:  "Any  new 
practical  measures  which  may  be  rendered  expedient,  by  the 
ever-varying  conditions  of  human  history,  for  the  effectiveness 
of  the  Church  in  the  moral  regeneration  of  individual  men,  are 
admissible,  being  in  harmony  with  the  original  purpose  and 
simj)licity  of  the  Gospel,  however  they  may  contravene  ecclesi- 
astical precedents  or  traditions."  In  all  the  "extraordinary 
series  of  events"  which  mark  its  history  there  is  this  recurrence 
to  the  first  principles  of  Christianity. 

Perhaps  there  is  no  more  striking  illustration  of  the  general 
truth  of  this  statement  than  the  origin  and  growth  of  Metliodist 
State  Conventions.  The  first  experiment  of  such  a  meeting 
"  without  authority  and  altogether  irresponsible "  was  made 
in  Massachusetts  within  two  or  three  years.  But  already  the 
plan  has  taken  fast  hold  and  been  generally  adopted.  Our 
Church  papers,  official  and  non-official,  have  found  in  them,  so 
far  as  we  can  bring  to  mind,  nothing  as  yet  to  disapprove  of, 
and  much  in  every  way  to  commend.  Their  various  issues  are 
full  of  reports  of  their  proceedings  or  of  announcements  that 
such  Conventions  are  now  being  held  or  are  anticipated,  until 
next  year  they  will  probably  be  held  in  every  State. 

Tiicre  must  have  been  a  necessity  in  American  Methodism 
for  such  informal  featherings.  An  idea  could  not  expand  so 
rapidly  without  some  good  reason  of  explanation.  We  do  not 
have  to  go  beyond  Methodism  in  Pennsylvania  to  find  the  argu- 
ment for  such  meetings,  and  the  advantages  arising  therefrom. 

In  Pennsylvania,  on  account  of  the  division  of  the  State  by 

56718'?'         ' 


4  PEEFACE. 

Conference  lines  and  the  fact  that  several  of  the  Conferences  ex- 
tend beyond  the  State  boundaries  into  the  territory  of  adjoin- 
ing States,  the  statistics  and  resources  of  Methodism  have  here- 
tofore been  unkno^vn,  except  to  the  careful  plodding  gatherers 
of  such  information  from  sources  Ivinjc  out  of  the  reach  of  the 
masses  of  our  communion.  Intelligent  Methodists  have  not 
known  the  number  in  Ciuuvh  fellowship,  in  our  Sabbath-schools, 
in  our  various  educational  institutions,  the  value  of  Church  pro- 
perty, etc.,  &c. 

This  volume  furnishes  such  information.  It  does  more; 
questions  of  spiritual  and  business  interest  are  hero  discussed 
with  great  ability,  and  although  the  conclusions  reached  are 
without  any  legal  power  to  bind,  yet  their  moral  force  in  direct 
effects  cannot  but  be  very  o-reat. 

As  a  practical  illustration  of  the  working  of  lay  delegation, 
about  to  be  introduced  into  our  body,  this,  with  similar  volumes, 
is  of  great  value.  Ministers  and  laymen  met  on  common 
ground  of  interest  and  influence,  for  mutual  consultation  in 
matters  in  which  each  are  interested  equally,  and  the  spectacle 
presented  was  not  that  of  the  lion  and  the  lamb  lying  down 
together  under  the  magnetism  of  some  controlling  influence 
the  withdrawal  of  which  might  have  been  the  occasion  for  strife 
and  contention,  but  one  of  beautiful  harmony  and  co-operation, 
saying  to  those  who  may  have  feared  the  introduction  of  the  lay 
element  into  our  Church  councils:  "Behold  how  beautiful  it  is 
for  brethren  to  dwell  together  in  unitv."  These  Conventions 
liave  shown  that  there  is  nothing  in  ]\Icthodism  )o  prevent  per- 
fect co-o|)eration  between  its  lay  and  ministerial  element. 

The  Convention  of  Pennsylvania  Methodists  brou^iht  toirethcr 
laymen  and  ministers  hitherto  uid<nown  (o  each  oIIkm-,  now 
known  Mii'l  loved  JLS  brcHii-en  both  in  (lie  (lesli  and  in  (he  Lord, 
l^aeli  anil  all  received  (Voni  (he  contact  ol"  kindred  mind  new 
impulse-;  for  practical  work  in  the  great  fields  white  unto  (he 
harvest,  and  they  went  forth  to  their  homes  to  pi'ay  the  I/ord  of 
the  harvest  to  send  forth  more  laborers  into  his  vinevard. 

I  lieir  words — words  ol'  wisdom  ami  <i|'  hope,  tims  |)res(>nted 
to  til'-  |iiil>lic  will  pi-i»ve  a  blessed  inspiration  U)  otlu-rs  as  well 
as  a  8ourc(!  of  valuable  information  to  all. 


PROCEEDINGS 
OF  THE 

GENERAL  COMMITTEE  OF  ARRANGEMENTS. 


At  <he  sessions  of  the  Philadelphia  and  Central  Pennsylvania  Conferencep. 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  held  at  the  same  time  in  March  last 
committees  were  appointed  to  correspond  with  Methodists  throughout  the 
State  in  reference  to  the  propriety  of  holding  a  Methodist  State  Convention 
in  Pennsylvanin.  These  committees  met  on  the  14th  of  April,  in  Wilkes- 
barre,  during  the  session  of  the  Wyoming  Conference,  that  body  having  also 
appointed  a  committee. 

Fresnit.—EQV.  R.  H.  Pattison,  D.  D.,  Rev.  G.  D.  Carrow,  D.D.,  Col.  John  A. 
Wright,  Thos.  W.  Priue,  Gen.  Charles  Albright — Philada.  Conference. 

Rev.  Irwin  H.  Torrence,  Rev.  .John  A.  Gere,  D.  D.,  Rev.  Francis  Hodgson. 
D.  D.,  W.  H.  Woodin,  Col.  J.  Sallade — Central  Pennsylvania  Conference. 

Rev.  Y.  C.  Smith,  D.  D.,  Rev.  11.  Brownscombe,  Rev.  W.  .J.  .Judd,  Daniel 
Taylor — Wyoming  Conference. 

Rev  J.  A.  Gere,  D.  D.,  was  elected  Chairman,  and  Rev.  Y.  C.  Smith,  Secre- 
tary.    The  meeting  wns  opened  with  prayer  by  Rev.  F.  Hodgson,  D.  D. 

After  careful  and  earnest  consideration,  the  following  resolutions  were 
adopted :  — 

1.  That  it  is  the  judgment  of  this  General  Committee  that  a  Methodist 
Episcopal  State  Convention  be  held  in  and  for  the  State  of  Pennsylvania. 

2.  That  the  Convention  shall  be  composed  of  two  <lclegates  from  each  pas- 
toral charge,  the  Bishop  residing  in  the  State,  Presiding  Elders,  Presidents 
and  Professors  in  Colleges  and  St^minaries  under  our  control.  .Agents  of  bene- 
volent societies,  and  Editors  of  Methodist  papers  published  in  the  State. 

3.  That  the  delegates  sliall  he  appointed  by  the  respective  charges,  in  such 
way  as  they  may  select,  and  in  case  any  charge  fails  to  appoint  delegates, 
the  Presiding  Elder  is  requested  to  appoint  the  requisite  delegates  to  fill  the 
vacancy. 

4.  That  the  Presiding  Elders  of  districts  in  the  Erie  and  Pittsburgh  Con- 
ferences, lying  within  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  appoint  three  ministers  anii 
three  laymen  from  each  Conference,  as  members  of  the  Committee,  to  mnke 
arrangements  for  the  proposed  Convention;  and  tiiat  the  Presiding  Elder  of 
the  Tioga  district.  East  Genesee  Conferrncc,  and  one  layman  appointed  hy 
him,  be  members  of  the  said  Committee. 

5 


6  MINUTES   OF   CONVENTION. 

5.  That  when  we  adjourn,  we  do  so  to  meet  on  Wednesday,  the  eleventh 
day  of  May,  at  3  o'clock,  p.  m.,  at  1018  Arch  Street,  Philadelphia. 

6.  That  Rev.  I.  II.  Torreuce  be  appointed  Corresponding  Secretary  of  this 
Committee. 

7.  That  a  committee  of  six,  consisting  of  Revs.  I.  H.  Torrence,  G.  D.  Car- 
row,  J.  W.  Jackson,  and  Y.  C.  Smith,  and  Messrs.  J.  A.  AVright,  and  Thomas 
W.  Price,  be  appointed  to  suggest  appropriate  topics  to  the  General  Commit- 
tee at  its  next  meeting,  to  be  submitted  to  the  State  Convention;  and  they 
may  increase  their  number,  by  ajtpainting  one  member  from  each  of  the  Con- 
ferences not  now  represented  in  this  Committee. 

8.  That  the  President  of  the  General  Committee  shall  be  a  member  ex- 
officio  of  the  above  sub-committee. 

The  General  Committee  met  according  to  adjournment  at  1018  Arch  St., 
Phila.,  May  11th,  at  3  o'clock,  P.  M. 

Rev.  J.  A.  Gere,  D.  D.,  in  the  chair.  In  the  absence  of  Rev.  Y.  C.  Smith, 
D.  D.,  Rev.  R.  H.  Pattison,  D.  D.,  was  appointed  Secretary. 

The  Committee  continued  in  session  for  two  days,  giving  very  great  atten- 
tion to  the  work  committed  to  their  care. 

Philadelphia  was  finally  fixed  upon  as  the  place  for  the  holding  of  the  Con- 
vention, and  October  18th,  I'Jih  and  20th  as  the  time. 

The  following  general  jjrogranime  of  business  and  assignment  of  topics  for 
the  Convention  was  agreed  upon  :  — 

1.  Tuesday  afternoon,  at  3  o'clock.     The  Organization. 

2.  Tuesday  evening,  7i  o'clock.  Topic — '-Methodism,  its  Growth  and 
present  Position  in  the  State."  Committee — Rev.  I.  II.  Torrence,  Rev.  W.  II. 
Kincaid,  and  J.  M.  Maris. 

3.  Wednesday  morning.  9  o'clock.  Topic — "  The  Type  of  Piety  necessary 
to  the  highest  prosperity  of  the  Church."  Committee — Rev.  Geo.  Peck,  I).  D., 
Rev.  G.  D.  Carrow,  D.  D.,  and  Rev.  F.  Hodgson,  D.  D. 

4.  Wednesilay  afiernoon,  2\  o'clock.  Topic — "  The  Charitable  Institutions 
of  the  Church."  Committee— Co\.  .John  A.  Wriglit,  i;.  11.  Worne,  and  Rev.  II. 
Miller,  D.  U. 

5.  Wednesday  evening,  7.1  o'clock.  Topic — '•  The  Duty  of  tlie  Cliurcli  in 
relation  to  the  Ciirislian  Sahbatli  and  the  Cause  of  T«ni])erance."  Committee 
—The  S'lUnith:  W.  W.  Wyilics  Ilnii.  .Ii>s.  McKnally,  niul  Rev.  Wm.  Samp- 
son Tempcrtince :  lion,  .lohn  McCalmont,  James  Black,  Esi[.,  mid  Rev.  P. 
Coomhe. 

().  Tiiursday  morning,  0  o'clock.  Topic — "The  Kducalional  Interests  of 
the  Methodist  Kpiscopal  ('liurcli  in  Pennsylvania."  Committee — Rev.  Geo. 
Loomis,  D.  1).,  Rev.  R.  L.  Dashicll,  1).  D.,  and  Rev.  I.  C.  Pcrsliing,  D.  1). 

7.  Thursday  afiernoon,  2^  o'clnck.  'I'npic — "  The  Public  Sciiool  tines- 
lion."  Committee— \\c\.  A.  Wliecler,  1>.  D.,  Rev.  J.  W.  Jackson,  and  P.  W. 
SliaediT,  I'.sii. 

H.  Thur.'iday  evening,  ~ >,  o'clock.  To|)ic — "  Tiie  Duly  of  liif  Cliri.slian 
Citizen  to  the  Stale."  Commiltrr—W'ui.  II,  All.-n,  LL.  I).,  Uou.  11.  I-.  Rich- 
mood,  and  Rev.  II.  S.  Nesbiit,  b.  I). 


LIST  OF  DELEGATES. 


Bishops. — M.  Simpson,  D.  D. 

Pkesidknts  and  Pkofessoks  of  Colleges  and  Skmixabies. — Rev.  Geo. 
Loomis,  D.  D.,  Rev.  Robt.  L.  Dashiell,  D.  D.,  Rev.  I.  C.  Pershing,  D.  D., 
Rev.  T.  P.  Ege,  Rev.  S.  L.  Bowman,  Prof.  W.  II.  Shelly,  Prof.  D.  \\.  Bar- 
tine. 

Editors. — Rev.  S.  II.  Nesbitt,  D.  D.,  Rev.  A.  Wallace,  Rev.  E.  A.  Johnson. 

Secretaries  and  Agents. — Rev.  J.  P.  Durbin,  D.  D.,  Rev.  I.  II.  Torrence, 
Rev.  A.  J.  Kynett,  D.  D.,  Rev.  P.  Coombe,  Rev.  Jos.  Horner,  Rev.  S.  W. 
Thomas. 

Ministers. — Geo.  Peck,  Charles  Cooke,  John  A.  Gere,  F.  Hodgson,  Joseph 
Castle,  N.  S.  Buckingham,  H.  C.  Pardee,  G.  T.  Ockerman,  A.  B.  Leonard, 
W  J.  Paxson,  W.  H.  Burrell,  J.  Lindamuth,  Alex.  M.  Wiggins,  Thompson 
Mitchell,  B.  H.  Crever,  H.  Brownscombe,  L.  W.  Peck,  J.  Walker  Jackson, 
C.  F.  Turner,  T.  Kirkpatrick,  A.  Manship,  J.  M.  Wheeler,  John  Thrush,  J. 
H.  Weston,  E.  M.  Chilcoat,  John  Floyd,  J.  B.  Sharer,  John  Stringer,  S.  A. 
Heilner,  M.  H.  Sisty,  John  Shields,  T.  C.  Pearson,  H.  M.  Ash,  G.  G.  Rake- 
straw,  C.  I.  Thompson,  L.  B.  Hoffman,  C.  V.  Wilson,  G.  D.  Carrow,  Thos.  C. 
Murphy,  J.  R.  T.  Gray,  Jesse  R.  Akers,  Wm.  A.  Ilouck,  B.  B.  Hamlin,  James 
C.  Clarke,  P.  F.  Eyer,  L.  C.  Floyd,  A.  C.  Bowdish,  J.  A.  Krummer,  J.  Pil- 
kinton,  E.  A.  Squier,  W.  W.  McMichael,  D.  M.  Hollister,  J.  H.  Conkle,  T. 
M.  Reese,  M.  Barnhill,  W.  W.  Reese,  T.  B.  Miller,  L.  B.  Hughes,  E.  I.  D. 
Pepper,  J.  A.  De  Moyer,  P.  J.  Cox,  AV.  Mnjor,  C.  P.  Masdcn,  W.  Cooper,  Z. 
S.  Stevens,  G.  W.  Izer,  G.  R.  Hair,  J.  Mason,  S.  W.  Weiss,  H.  Miller,  H.  L. 
Chapman,  C.  W.  Smith,  I.  T.  Walker,  R.  Owen,  W.  L.  Gray,  S.  C.  Swal- 
low, J.  B.  Cuddy,  P.  J.  Gates,  C.  L.  F.  Howe,  W.  C.  Robinson,  E.  W.  Kirby, 
John  R.  Bailey,  W.  P.  Bignell,  W.  Cochran,  F.  B.  Riddle,  G.  Heacock,  G. 
W.  Lybrand,  H.  C.  Cheston,  E.  M.  Wood,  J.  P.  Miller,  J.  E.  Kessler,  Joseph 
Gregg,  H.  C.  Beacom,  W.  J.  Mills,  J.  M.  Groves,  H.  Sinsabaugh,  T.  A.  Fern- 
ley,  James  Curns,  S.  Barnes,  W.  B.  Wood,  N.  W.  Colburn,  J.  B.  Sumner,  A. 
R.  Miller,  J.  B.  McCuUough,  E.  F.  Swartz,  B.  F.  Stevens,  G.  W.  Cranage,  H. 
B.  Fort.ner,  N.  J.  Hawley,  J.  F.  Chaplain,  J.  J.  Mcllyar,  J.  H.  Alday,  J.  M. 
Hinson.  J.  G.  Eckman,  AVm.  Bixby,  J.  0.  Woodruff,  C.  II.  Payne,  D.  C.  01m- 
stead,  B.  G.  Paddock,  F.  A.  King,  S.  W.  Kurtz,  W.  Vanderkerchen,  R.  Tur- 
ner, H.  F.  Isett,  M.  A.  Day,  J.  A.  Cooper,  Y.  C.  Smith,  L.  M.  Hobbs,  W.  M. 
Dalrymple,  S.  Pancoast,  I.  Mast,  J.  Cummins,  M.  D.  Kurtz,  Theo.  Stevens. 
A.  L.  Wilson,  R.  N.  Stubbs,  J.  C.  Scofield,  R.  M.  Bear,  J.  Edwards,  S.  Lucas. 
T.  Montgomery,  T.  W.  Simpers,  J.  T.  Swindells,  Thos.  Harrison,  A.  S.  Bow- 

7 


8  MINUTES   OF    CONVENTION. 

man,  J.  F.  Meredith,  H.  S.  Mendenhall,  J.  J.  F.  Brunow,  C.  H.  McDermond, 
S.  Hughes,  W.  C.  Best,  Jacob  Todd,  J.  S.  Crook,  R.  W.  Humphries,  W.  A. 
McKee,  W.  H.   Fries,  H.  A.    Cleveland,  F.  Gelman,  F.  L.    Heller,  S.  Powers, 

A.  S.  Dobbs,  D.  W.  Gordon,  A.  Wheeler,  S.  Townsend,  T.  B.  Neely,  W.  Swin- 
dells, W.  McCombs,  J.  W.  Knapp,  J.  La  Bar,  S.  G.  Grove,  S.  H.  C.  Smith, 
W.  CoflFman,  W.  M.  Ridgway,  S.  T.  Kemble,  D.  L.  Patterson,  K.  H.  Pattison. 
.lohn  D.  Stewart,  John  Bert,  A.  C.  Crosthwaite,  M.  L.  Smith,  A.  Brittain, 
Samuel  Creighton,  F.  E.  Crever,  J.  S.  Johnson,  E.  H.  Slocum,  G.  W.  Miller, 
D.  A.  Beckley,  S.  F.  Brown,  R.  J.  Carson,  S.  H.  Hoover,  J.  F.  Crouch,  W. 
H.  Elliott,  S.  R.  Gillingham,  L.  D.  McClintock,  W.  J.  Stevenson,  J.  J.  Pcarce, 
J.  J.  Timanus,  Samuel  Irwin,  II.  E.  Gilroy,  G.  T.  Hurlock,  J.  Bawden,  E.  H. 
HofTman,  lion.  I.  S.  Deihl. 

Laymen. — Hon.  H.  L.  Richmond,  Col.  John  A.  Wriglit,  lion.  J.  S.  McCal- 
mont,  Wm.  II.  Allen,  LL.  D.,  Hon.  Eli  Slifer,  Thomas  W.  Price,  Gen.  C.  Al- 
bright, Col.  Jacob  Sallade,  T.  T.  Tasker,  Sr.,  S.  Grove,  J.  F.  Kreps,  V.  A. 
Laffer,  I.  L.  C.  Miller,  Wm.  Kinsey,  Hon.  A.  0.  Heister,  J.  S.  Smith,  Geo. 
S.  Snyder,  M.  W.  Jackson,  W.  F.  Kline,  AV.  A.  Leary,  Jacob  Windolf,  H. 
NeaflFer,  Thos.  T.  Mason,  Jacob  H.  Walter,  B.  D.  Biggs,  D.  H.  Bowen,  Henry 
Gregory,  W.  F.  Sadler,  J.  Wesley  Awl,  Ira  D.  Sankey,  Henry  Hill,  S.  W. 
.Murray,  M.  Briggs,  AV.    S.  Smith,  J.  AV.  Fleming,  S.  J.    Brisbin,  J.  Stillman, 

B.  F.  Crawshaw,  AV.  Matthews,  H.  C.  Shurtleff,  S.  S.  Huff,  S.  J.  Shoop,  Geo. 
Gleim,  Samuel  Graccy,  F.  Schluembach,  James  Black,  Col.  A.  Cummings. 
Daniel  Slarkey,  John  J.  John,  AVilliam  Downey,  S.  G.  Cook,  J.  H.  Smith,  J. 
W.  Quiggle,  N.  .Slanship,  John  Hean,  Jr.,  AV.  Vates,  S.  Rodgcrs,  J.  Eshel- 
man,  P.  Pettebone,  AV.  Murray,  AV.  Brown,  Geo.  S.  Bennett,  H.  N.  Powell, 
A.  Blakeley,  J.  C.  AVilliams,  I.   Shallcross,  E.  Bull,  AV.  J.  iNIadeira,  11.  Jones, 

C.  H.  Barnard,  AV.  H.  Kincaid,  John  AVhite,  O.  Boice,  J.  Shepherd,  H.  R. 
Mosser,  Geo.  Yeager,  Col.  G.  F.  McFarlund,  A.  Robeno,  Jr.,  J.  N.  McCart- 
ney, G.  AV.  Defrain,  A.  AVright,  T.  K.  Peterson,  J.  L.  Luckenback,  Thos. 
West,  Josepli  Parrish,  M.  D.,  Henry  Dearr,  Andrew  Zane,  Jr.,  G.  F.  Matter, 
Lemuel  L.  Logan,  Geo.  L.  Horn,  tico.  Slate,  W.  Hunt,  J.  H.  Creasy.  W.  D. 
Melick,  J.  S.  Houch,  S.  Arnold,  C.  AV.  Asiicorn,  J.  W.  Rhoads,  Thos.  Lamb. 
M.  Turner,  AV.  McCarthur,  Jas.  Thomas,  J.  AV.  Swartz,  AV.  R.  Thomas,  J.  D. 
I'atterson,  J.  AV.  Glover.  AV.  Lefevre,  W.  B.  Allen,  AV.  L.  Lance,  J.  H.  Rug- 
gles,  A.  I'.runur,  S.  C.  May,  M.  AV.  Fricke,  John  Bone,  Tiios.  Gould,  Geo.  .\. 
AVakerly,  W.  G.  Spencer,  M.  llannum,  J.  M.  Maris,  David  Clarkson,  K.  W. 
Ciarkson,  AV.  C.  Hesser,  Aaron  Breisch,  R.  Morrow,  J.  H.  Nobbs,  AVni.  Free- 
u.an.  Jas.  Ka.-son,  J.  AV.  Higgs,  S.  Kelly,  R.  C.  Scott,  G,  F.  Flammer,  F.  A.  Lou- 
der, Wm.  L.  Hazlett,  D.  L.  Briggs,  R.  Askcorn,  Jesse  Beaver,  B.  D.  Beyea,  IL 
R.  Breniser,  C.  Scott,  C.  E.  Lytic,  Enos  F.  Clound,  David  McGinness,  James 
M.  West,  C.  F.  Steinman,  Geo.  Thumlet,  John  Shullz,  AV.  A.  Ruddack,  W. 
Perry,  N.  S.  Briliain,  AV.  Hauck,  AV.  W.  Headrick,  Omcr  J.  Kingsley,  J.  Star- 
rier, s!  I'.cnn.-r,  W.  Hodgson,  J.  AVimer.  F.  A.  Fidler,  C.  Perrine,  T.  B.  Castle. 
M.  I».,  J.  T.  (Jillon,  P.  Rudolph,  E.  McClain.John  L.-nt.  Ilonry  Crousc,  B.  H. 
Kendi'g,  .M.  D.,  David  Care,  John  Hall.  H.  K.  .Moore,  IL  Z.  Zrigler,  George 
RouHe,  J.  ,M.;Cur<ly,  J.  D.  Flousbury.  W.  Summers,  W.  B.  Ilcilzel,  (.'.  B.  Hare. 
J.  B   Winer. 


MINUTES  OF  THE  CONVENTION. 


FIRST   SESSIOK 

Horticultural  Hall,  Philadelphia, 

Tuesday  afternoon,  Oct.  18th,  1870. 
The  Methodist  State  Convention  of  Pennsylvania  was  called 
to  order  at  three  o'clock,  P.  M.,  by  Rev.  John  A.  Gere,  D.  D., 
Chairman  of  the  general  Committee  of  Arrangements,  who  nomi- 
nated Hon.  H.  L.  Richmond  of  Meadville,  as  temporary  Chair- 
man. The  nomination  was  unanimously  confirmed.  Mr. 
Richmond,  on  taking  the  chair,  made  the  following  address : 

Gentlemen  of  the  Convention  :  The  honor  conferred  upon  me  by  yonr 
vote  is  a  very  unexpected  one,  and  I  shall  not  attempt,  as  is  sometimes  cus- 
tomary, to  make  a  formal  speech  before  taking  the  Chair.  We  should  re- 
member, however,  that  this  is  not  a  political  Convention  or  organization. 
We  have  heard  in  this  country  a  great  deal  about  such  Conventions:  we 
know  somewhat  of  them  ;  but,  I  repeat — and  I  hope  it  will  be  remembered 
by  this  Convention — that  we  are  not  gathered  together  for  any  political  pur- 
pose; and  yet,  as  perhaps  you  will  learn  before  the  Convention  adjourns, 
every  Methodist  should  be,  in  a  certain  and  particular  sense  of  that  word,  a 
politician. 

We  meet  here  as  a  religious  Convention,  as  a  religious  body — not  repre- 
senting all  the  religious  denominations  in  the  country  ;  and  while  we  hope 
to  do  nothing  here  that  will  not  have  a  tendency  to  promote  our  religious  in- 
terests as  a  denomination,  we  do  expect  to  do  good  to  the  great  community 
that  we  represent. 

The  holding  of  these  State  Conventions  is  something  new  in  our  history  a^ 
Methodists.  Properly  conducted,  with  proper  subjects  before  them  for  dis*- 
cussion,  tliey  will  become  a  mighty  power  in  the  land  for  good.  I  have  been 
greatly  interested  in  looking  over  the  history  of  the  several  Conventions  thni 
have  preceded  this,  and,  with  a  heart  palpitating  with  joy,  have  I  read  the 
sentiments,  pure,  elevating,  religious,  that  have  been  proclaimed  in  all  thot^c 
Conventions. 

Let  me  repeat,  then,  that  we  have  met  as  a  religious  body,  representing, 
perhaps,  numerically,  and  in  many  other  respects,  the  most  powerful  reli- 
gious organization  in  the  Church  of  Christ.  Why,  I  heard  not  long  since  an 
Episcopal  minister,  while  preaching  a  sermon  on   the  centenary  of  Metho- 

9 


10  MINUTES   OF   CONVEXTIOX. 

diam,  make  the  allegation,  that  the  Methodist  Church  was  nearer  to  being  a 
national  organization  than  any  other  in  the  land. 

Now  there  is  one  sense  in  which  I  know  all  of  us  would  desire  to  have  that 
true:  we  would  deprecate  the  day  that  the  Methodist  Church  should  be  a 
national  organization  in  the  European  sense  of  the  term  ;  but,  so  far  as 
preaching  the  Gospel  is  concerned,  so  far  as  tlie  promulgation  of  a  great  re- 
ligious sentiment  is  concerned,  so  far  as  she  seeks  to  purify  the  morals  of  the 
country,  I  pray  that  she  may  become  a  national  organization. 

Let  us  then,  my  friends,  during  the  progress  of  this  Convention,  remem- 
ber that  we  are  here,  not  as  a  political  but  as  a  religious  body;  and  while 
we  are  here,  let  us  cultivate  that  feeling  of  unity  and  harmony  that  belongs 
to  us  in  the  relations  we  sustain  to  each  other  ;  and  let  it  be  the  united 
prayer  of  every  one,  that  this  Convention  may  be  a  blessing,  not  only  to  the 
Church  represented,  but  to  the  Commonwealth,  nay,  to  the  nation  itself. 

On  motion  of  Rev.  Dr.  Pershing,  of  Pittsburgh,  Rev.  R. 
H.  Pattison,  D.  D.,  of  Philadelpliia,  was  chosen  temporary 
Secretary. 

At  the  request  of  the  Chairman,  Rev.  J)r,  Nesbitt,  Editor  of 
the  Pittsburgh  Christian  Advocate,  conducted  the  opening  de- 
votional exercises.     Dr.  Nesbitt  announced  the  175th  hyiim — 

"  AH  hail  the  power  of  Jesus'  name," 

which  was  sung  by  tlie  Convention,  under  the  leadership  of 
Professor  Fischer.  Dr.  Nesbitt  then  offered  an  appropriate 
])rayer. 

Col.  John  A.  "Wright,  of  iPhiladelphia,  offered  the  following 
resolution,  which  was  adopted,  viz. — 

Rexolved,  That  a  CommiUee,  composed  of  two  Delegates  from  each  Con- 
ference represonlod  in  iliis  Convention,  be  appointed  by  the  Chair  to  nomi- 
nate jteruianent  Othccrs  for  tlie  Convention. 

"^Phe  list  of  Conferences  lying  in  whole  oi-  in  part  witliiii  tJic 
limits  of  the  SUite  was  call (mI,  and  it,  was  found  lli:i(  the  follow- 
ing were  n'j)rcs('ntcd,  viz. :  Philadelphia,  Central  I'ennsylvania, 
Pittsburgh,  Erie,  lOast  Genes<!e,  ^\^•oming,  East  (Jerman  and 
Newark. 

The  Chair  aiinoiuieed  the  lollowing  comiiiiUcc,'  to  nominate 
( )llicers  for  the  permanent  organization,  viz.:  Col.  J.  A.  Wright, 
I{ev.  .1.  W.  .l,i<lv-oii,  llev.  11.  i'.rownseond)e,  Rev.  Y.  C.  Smith, 
1).  ]).,    Rev.  .las.  (urns,    C<»l.  .1.  Sallade,  Kev.  11.  Miller,  1  >.  D., 


ADDRESS   OF   REV.    S.    KRAMER.  11 

J.  F.  Dravo,  Esq.,  Rev.  E.  A.  Jolinsoii,  Uim.  .1.  S.  M'Calmont, 
Rev.  C.  L.  F.  Howe,  Rev.  R.  L.  Dashiell,  D.  D.,  Rev.  J.  J.  F. 
Brunow. 

On  motion  of  Gen.  C.  Albright,  of  Mauch  Chunk,  a  com- 
mittee of  five  on  credentials  was  ordered.  Gen.  C.  Albright, 
Rev.  H.  C.  Pardee,  G.  W.  Cranage,  Esq.,  Rev.  W.  Bixby,  and 
Rev.  W.  P.  Bignell  were  appointed  on  the  above  committee. 

On  motion  of  I.  C.  Pershing,  D.  D.,  it  was  voted  that  the 
Rules  of  Order  of  the  last  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  be  adopted,  as  far  as  applicable,  for  the  govern- 
ment of  this  Convention  during  its  session. 

A  Committee  from  the  Xational  Local  Preachers'  Associa- 
tion, holding  its  session  in  Union  Church,  in  this  City,  was  in- 
troduced to  the  Convention.  Rev.  S.  Kramer,  chairman  of  the 
Committee,  addressed  the  Convention  as  follows  : 

Mr.  Chairman  and  Brkthren  beloved:  We  area  Committee  from  \hv 
Local  Preachers'  National  Association,  meeting  in  this  city,  in  the  Union 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  AVe  have  been  appointed  to  convey  to  you  the 
fraternal  greetings  of  that  body,  and  to  thank  you  for  the  kind  invitation 
that  has  been  extended  to  us  to  meet  with  you  this  afternoon  and  evening  ; 
but  as  it  was  impossible  for  us  to  close  our  business  in  order  to  gratify  our- 
selves to  meet  M'ith  you  upon  this  afternoon,  we  have  been  appointed  to  re- 
turn to  you  the  heart-felt  thanks  of  that  Association  for  your  kindness  toward 
them,  and  to  extend  to  3'ou  an  invitation  to  meet  with  us  this  evening  at  half 
past  seven  o'clock,  in  our  religious  Jubilee.  Our  exercises  will  be  closed 
this  afternoon,  and  it  is  a  matter  of  regret  that  we  could  not  be  with  you. 
Anxiously  desiring  your  presence,  we  have  come  to  invite  you  to  be  with  us. 
but,  from  surrounding  circumstances,  we  are  constrained  to  believe  that  that 
is  impossible.  We  should  be  very  liappy  indeed  if  any  of  you  can  possibly 
forego  the  privilege  you  might  enjoy  here  this  evening,  to  have  you  meet 
with  us.  Again,  in  the  name  of  the  Local  Preachers'  Association,  we  return 
to  you  our  heart- felt  thanks,  and  bid  you  God  speed,  praying  that  the  bless- 
ing of  God  may  be  upon  you,  and  that  this  great  movement,  which  you  have 
here  inaugurated,  may  redound  to  the  glory  of  God. 

On  motion  of  Rev.  Dr.  C.  Cooke  the  thanks  of  the  Conven- 
tion were  tendered  to  the  Local  Preachers'  Association  for  their 
fraternal  invitation,  and  their  regrets  expressed  that  thi- 
business  before  them  woidd  not  allow  their  accepting  it. 

The  Committee   on    Permanent  Organization,  through  their 


12  MINITTES    OF    CONVENTION. 

Secretary,  Rev.  J.  W.  Jackson,  made  the  following  nominations, 
which  were  unanimously  confirmed,  viz.: 

President. — Bishop  M.  Simpson,  D.  D. 

Vice-Presidents.— K&\.  H.  Sinsabaugh,  J.  W.  F.  White,  Esq.,  Rev.  W.  V. 
Bignell,  Hon.  J.  S.  M'Calmont,  Rev.  W.  Cochran.  Mnjor  B.  S.  Dartt,  Rev. 
Y.  C.  Smith,  D.  D.,  Payne  Pettebone,  E.sq.,  Rev.  Thompson  Mitchell,  D.  D., 
Hon.  Eli  Slifer,  Rev.  Charles  Cooke,  D.  D.,  William  H.  Allen,  LL.  D.,  Rev. 
.r.  J.  F.  Bruuow,  F.  Giklemier,  Esq. 

Secretary. — Rev.  Robert  H.  Pattison,  D.  D. 

Assistant  Secretaries. — Rev.  W.  J.  Paxson,  J.  TI.  Walter,  Esq  ,  P.  A.  Laffer, 
Esq.,  Rev.  C.  L.  F.  Howe,  J.  W.  Rhoads,  M.  D.,  George  R.  Snyder,  Esq. 

On  motion  of  Rev.  J.  W.  Jackson,  the  officers  of  the  tempo- 
rary organization  were  requested  to  retain  their  positions  during 
the  present  session. 

Rev.  J.  W.  Jackson,  Rev.  I.  C.  Pershing,  D.D.,  and  Rev. 
E.  A.  Johnson,  were  appointed  a  committee  to  wait  upon 
Bishop  Simpson  and  inform  him  of  his  election  as  l*rcsident 
of  the  Convention. 

Thomas  W.  Price,  Esq.,  of  Philadelphia,  offered  the  follow- 
ing resolution,  which  w;is  adopted,  viz.: 

Resolved,  That  a  committee  be  appointed,  consisting  of  one  from  each  con- 
ference represented  in  the  Convention,  to  whom  shall  be  referred  all  resohi- 
lions,  except  those  presented  by  committees,  to  whom  topics  have  been 
assigned. 

The  chair  appointed  the  following  as  such  committee : 

Thos.  W.  Price,  Esq.,  Rev.  Wm.  Bixby,  M.  W.  .J.ackson,  Esq.,  Thos.  Snow- 
dcn,  E.<q.,  Rev.  A.  Wheeler,  I).  I).,  Rev.  C.  L.  F.JIowe,  Rev.  R.  L.  Dashiell. 
I>.  D.,  Rev.  .1.  .J.  F.  Bnino^v. 

There  being  no  hiisine.ss  before  the  Convention, 

Rev.  George  l*eck,  D.  D.,  the  oldest  Methodist  preacher  in 
Pennsylvania,  was  called  on  for  an  address,  lie  resj)onded  in 
a  brief  speech,  referring  to  interesting  facts  in  his  ministerial 
history,  now  covering  the  period  of  fifty-fom-  yetirs,  and  ex- 
pressing a  Wiirni  interest  in  the  ])rogress  of  the  Redeemer's 
cause,  tiiid  strong  liojx's  I'or  the  entire  success  of  tlu;  Convention. 

At  ihe  conclusion  ol'  Dr.  Pe(;k's  rem:n-ks, 

Re\'.  (litirlcs  Cooke,  DA).,  standing  next  in  (he  rank  of 
scnioritv,  was  called  (o  th(!  ])la(form,  and  miuh;  an  interesting 
addre.'^s,  replete  willi  jiciiitd    humor  ;ind  (,-hrislian  hoi)e,  and  ex- 


ADDIIKSS    OF    lUSUOP   .SIMPSON.  1,'J 

pressing  the  strongest  attachment  to  the  work  of  the  ministry, 
in  which  he  is  still  effectively  engaged. 

Rev.  F.  Hodgson,  D.  D.,  being  called  for,  made  some  appro- 
priate remarks,  full  of  cheerfulness  and  devotion  to  the  cause  of 
(Ihrist;  and  was  followed  by  Rev.  John  A.  Gere,  D.  D.,  whose 
speech  abounded  with  humorous  facts  and  instructive  incidents, 
connected  Avith  his  long  and  varied  experience.  He  referred  t^) 
the  first  Methodist  sermon  he  ever  heard,  having  been  preached 
l)y  Dr.  George  Peck,  in  1817;  and  closed  by  expressing  a  good 
Jiope  of  a  final  meeting  with  those  present,  in  the  heavenly  land. 

At  the  close  of  the  address  of  Dr.  Gere  the  Convention  ad- 
journed, to  meet  at  half-past  seven  o'clock  in  the  evening. 

The  doxology  was  sung,  and 

Dr.  George  Peck  pronounced  the  benediction. 


SECOND  SESSION- 
Horticultural  Hall,  Philadelphia. 

Tuesday  evening,  Oct.  18th,  1870. 
The  Methodist  State  Convention   met  according   to  adjourn- 
ment at  7|  o'clock. 

Hon.  H.  L.  Richmond  in  the  chair. 

Relio-ious  services  conducted   bv  Rev.  P.  Coorabe  of  Phila- 
delphia. 

Bishop  M.  Simpson,  D.  D.,  the  President  of  the  Convention, 
was  conducted  to  the  chair,  and  made  the  following  address: 

INAUGURAL   ADDRESS   OF   BISHOP   SIMPSON. 

Brethren  of  the  Convention,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen  :  Called  by  your  kind- 
ness to  take  the  chair  on  this  occasion,  I  retuin  to  you  niy  thanks  for  your 
fraternal  confidence  and  courtesy.  And,  as  this  Convention  is  the  first  of 
this  character,  held  in  the  State,  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  say  a  few  words 
louching  its  objects. 

And,  first,  I  do  not  understand  it  to  be  legislative  in  its  character;  it  doe-s 
not  propose  to  discuss  any  question  of  church  economy.  There  have  been, 
in  different  periods  of  our  history,  conventions  having  this  object  in  view, 
but  I  trust  tliat  day  has  forever  passed  away.  The  union  between  the  min- 
istry and  laity,  growing  stronger  from  year  to  year,  leaves  no  occasion  for 


14  MIKUTES   OF   CONVENTION. 

any  outside  issues  to  arise,  or  for  any  bodies  other  than  those  constituted  in 
tlie  economy  of  the  Church,  to  consider  questions  touching  its  legislation. 

Nor  is  the  onvention  a  political  body.  Our  friends  meet  with  the  difiFer- 
ent  political  organizations  to  select  candidates  for  office  and  to  adopt  party 
platforms;  we  are  not  here  for  any  such  purpose,  or  in  the  interest  of  any 
political  party.  We  recognize  our  brethren  connected  with  the  various  par- 
ties, and  it  is  not  to  be  expected  that  any  question  will  arise  here  touching 
the  political  views  of  any  member.  The  Methodist  Church  is  not,  and  never 
has  been  connected  with  any  political  party;  and  I  say  it  with  all  kindness 
to  both  the  great  parties  of  the  day,  that,  while  the  Methodist  Church  is 
ready,  in  any  righteous  struggle,  to  stand  by  the  country  when  its  life  is  in 
peril,  yet  it  feels  that  it  owes  nothing  to  the  leaders  of  either  political  parly. 
The  object  of  this  Convention,  if  I  understand  it,  is,  first,  to  promote  a 
more  free  social  intercourse  and  acquaintance  between  dill'erent  sections  of 
the  Church.  Separated  as  we  are,  into  diiferent  Conferences,  we  have  some- 
times found  it  difficult,  when  we  desired  some  general  movement  touching 
educational  and  other  kindred  matters,  to  produce  perfect  unanimity  of  ac- 
tion. Now,  assembling  here  from  the  various  Conferences  which  interlace 
with  each  other  in  our  State,  ministers  and  members  look  each  other  in  the 
eye,  take  each  other  by  the  hand,  learn  to  know  how  to  appreciate  each 
other,  ana  then,  as  union  gives  strength,  there  will  be  a  bond  strong  in  its 
character,  that  shall  bind  the  Atlantic  to  western  Pennsylvania,  and  the 
northern  sections  of  our  State  to  the  southern  borders,  ami,  though  separated 
by  Conferences  into  dirtci-ent  bands,  we  shall  be  one  body  of  Methodists 
throughout  the  State. 

Next  to  a  social  acquaintance  and  the  friendship  that  arises  from  it,  there 
are  general  questions  which  interest  us;  and  these  you  will  find  on  the  pro- 
gramme made  by  the  Committee.  We  shall  be  glad  to  consider  the  growth  of 
.Methodism  in  tiie  Slate;  and  in  its  consideration  we  shall  find  that  it  has 
grown  more  rapidly  in  some  sections  than  in  otiiers.  We  shall  be  led  to  ask 
for  the  causes;  to  iiujuire  what  agencies  may  be  used;  ami  probably  the  re- 
sult of  our  deliberations  may  be  to  give  an  increased  imjielus  to  some  of  our 
movements.  There  are  also  questions  touching  our  educational  institutions. 
We  need  to  have  more  sympathy  for  our  colleges  and  seminaries  in  all  parts 
of  our  (.'ommonwealth.  And  as  these  matters  come  before  us  in  review,  we 
shall  ]irobably  love  our  institutions  the  better,  and  be  ]iri']iarod  to  co-oper- 
ate wiiii  them  more  cordially.  Then,  as  tiie  era  of  chiiritablc  instilutions  is, 
us  I  fancy,  commencing  to  gain  favor  very  rapidly  with  the  pulilic  miiid  in 
.Mir  Ciiiin  h,  w(>  hIiuU  ..e  led  lo  inquire  what  we  can  do  in  this  respect ;  what 
more  can  he  done  for  our  widows  anil  orplians,  for  tiie  sick  and  for  IJie  poor, 
and  our  ciuirilies  jxissihly  may  be,  eitlicr  directly  or  indirectly,  jilaced  upon 
a  broader  basis,  and  possibly  men  of  liberal  feeling  and  generous  views,  re- 
flecting upon  I  ill'  pressing  needs  of  tiie  Ciniri'li,  may  be  stimulated  to  liberal 
action  in  time  lo  (tome. 

Hlioiild  liirre  lie  no  direct  resulls  apparently  flowing  from  this  Convonlion, 
still  we  cannot  measure  what  its  indirect  inliiu'iices  may  be.  Liglil  and  iieat 
and   electricity  and    magnetism    permeating,  to   some  extent,  all    bmlies,    wo 


ADDRESS   OF   BISHOP   SIMPSON.  15 

cannot  measure  or  weigh  them  ;  moving  to-day  silently,  to-morrow  they  may 
accumulate  for  benefit  or  for  destruction.  So  the  thoughts  started  to-day, 
kindled  in  a  few  minds  here,  may  diffuse  themselves  until  there  shall  be  an 
object  presented  around  which  they  shall  gather  and  exercise  a  potent  in- 
fiuence. 

Such  are  some  of  the  subjects  which  will  come  before  us,  and  then  we  may 
consider  as  citizens  the  great  questions  of  the  age  in  which  we  have  a  part, 
and  in  which  we  can  co-operate  with  our  brethren  of  other  Christian  de- 
nominations. How  we  can  co-operate,  upon  what  measures,  and  to  what  extent, 
may  be  subjects  for  our  consideration.  I  rejoice  at  least  to  think,  that  a  body 
of  Methodist  ministers  and  laymen  are  always  ready  to  co-operate  with  any 
other  section  of  the  Church  of  Clirist  upon  a  broad  and  equal  platform,  and 
ready  to  engage  in  all  works  of  benevolence  and  mercy. 

Assembled,  as  we  are,  in  this  year,  1870,  the  mind  cannot,  it  seems  to  me, 
but  revert  to  the  wonderful  growth  of  our  Church.  I  would  not  anticipate, 
as  the  subject  shall  come  before  you,  I  trust,  in  an  interesting  manner,  in  a 
very  few  moments,  yet,  in  this  commencement  of  our  services,  we  may  take 
a  bird's-eye  glance.  One  hundred  years  ago  Methodism  in  Pennsylvania 
owned  one  church — a  church  that,  for  eleven  years  had  no  board  floor  in  it, 
but  a  simple  earthen  one  ;  a  cliurch  that  for  fourteen  years  remained  un- 
plastered,  and  was  unfinished  for  more  than  twenty  years  ;  this  was  the 
Methodism  of  1770.  For  ten  years  more  there  were  but  two  little  country 
churches,  insignificant  in  their  dimensions,  and  not  until  1784  was  there  an 
extensive  work  far  into  the  interior  or  possibly  west  of  the  Allegheny  moun- 
tains. To-day  you  look  abroad,  and  Conference  after  Conference  is  mapped 
out  on  our  territory. 

These  brethren  are  meeting  from  all  parts  of  the  State,  and  we  ask.  What 
has  given  this  great  growth  ?  While  we  may  not  tell  precisely  what  has  oc- 
casioned our  growth,  I  think  I  can  understand  very  clearly  what  causes  have 
not  contributed  to  it. 

And  first,  we  owe  very  little  to  emigration.  It  is  true,  we  have  received 
some  members  from  England  and  from  Ireland — very  valuable  co-workers  in 
the  kingdom  and  patience  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  But  Methodism  in  those 
countries  is  comparatively  feeble.  In  Ireland  to-day  in  a  population  of 
7,000,000,  we  have  a  membership  of  only  about  20,000,  consequently  the 
emigration  coming  from  Ireland  brings  with  it  scarcely  a  trace  comparatively 
of  Methodism.  Methodism  in  England  is  stronger,  and  yet,  in  one  hundred 
years  past,  it  grew  from  a  very  small  vine,  to  its  present  proportions.  From 
Scotland  we  have  received  no  additions  of  moment,  and,  as  to  the  continent 
of  Europe,  there  is  now  very  little  Methodism  there  save  that  which  has 
arisen  by  a  re-action  from  our  own  country.  So  that  as  we  look  at  the  tide 
of  emigration  pouring  into  our  country,  while  it  serves  to  augment  other 
Churches  it  has  done  very  little  for  us.  The  tide  pouring  from  England  has 
swelled  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Chui-ch  ;  Scotland  and  Ireland  have  aug- 
mented the  different  branches  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  ;  the  great  emigra- 
tion from  Germany  has  swelled  the  Lutheran  and  Roman  Catholic  Churches; 
still  the  latter  has  received  its  immense  contributions  from  the  Catholic  popu- 


16  MINUTES    OF   CONVENTION. 

l.ition  of  Ireland,  but  whatever  growth  Methodism  may  have  had  in  this 
country,  it  owes  very  little  of  it  to  tMiiigration. 

In  the  second   place,  it   owes   nothing  of  it  to  Government  favor.     Other 
(jhurches,  in  dilFerent  countries,  have  been  connected  with  the  Government. 
1   speak  not   now  as  a  matter  of  complaint  against  them,  but  in  some  form, 
they  have  been  connected  with  the  State,  as  the  Catholic  Church  in  all  lands 
of  Europe,   the  Lutheran  Church  in  Germany,  Switzerland,  Denmark,  Swe- 
den and  Norway;  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Scotland  and  Ireland  ;  and  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  form  of  church  government  in  England.     All  the.«e  have 
had  Church    and  State  connections,  and   they  have  known  how  to  influence 
ilie  State  and   to  make   alliance  with  it.     Whether  to  its  credit  or  otherwise, 
the  fact  stands  out  in  history,  that  Methodism,  in  any  of  its  forms,  has  n":ver 
either  sought  or   obtained   an  alliance  with  the  State  in   any  country  on  the 
face  of  the  earth.     It  has  gained  its  conquests  simply  alone.     It  has  received 
the  protection  of  citizenship  from  Government — and  sometimes  scarcely  that; 
it  has  received   the   protection  of  property  as  others  ;  but  it  has  never  been 
looked  upon  with  favor.     From  the  beginning  of  our  Government,  as  Wash- 
ington was  an   Episcopalian,  Episcopalian  chaplains  were  selected   for  the 
army  and  navy,  and  have   controlled   our  army  and  navy  chiefly  from  that 
day  to   this — so  much    so  that  on  a    visit  to  West  Point  a   few  years    ago,  a 
young  cadet  told  me  that  he  belonged  to  the  State  Church,  and  when  only  a 
few  years  ago  the  President  of  the  United  States  happened  to  select  a  Metho- 
dist for  chaplain,  but  who  declined  the  offered  position,  some  members  of  the 
faculty  declared  that  they  would   have  none  but  an  Episcopalian  chaplain, 
because  the  Episcopalians  had  the  riglit  to   the  army  in  this  country.     Now 
I  mention  this,  not  .to  complain,  but  simply  to  show  that  we  have  grown  in 
no  case  by  Government  favor.     And  to-day  look   abroad,  and  wliile  we  have 
a  citizenship,  that  certainly  in  the  last  great  struggle  was  second  to  no  other 
denomination  in  its  devotion  to  tlie  country,  read  the  lists  of  officers  in  Penn- 
sylvania, selected  by  men  of  both  parties,  and  you  will  scarcely  find  half  a 
dozen  Methodist  names  among  them.     Now  I  mention  this,  I  repeat,  not  by 
way  of  complaint,  but    simply  to  show  that,  by  whatever  causes  we  have 
grown,  we  have  not  grown  by  State  or  Government  patronage. 

In  the  third  place — I  speak  witliout  any  invidious  feeling — we  liave  not 
grown  by  the  special  courtesy  of  our  friends  of  other  denominations.  1 
would  be  the  last  in  the  community  to  attempt  (o  stir  up  prejudice  or  secta- 
xian  bigotry.  Tlie  day  of  Christian  union,  I  trust,  is  dawning  upon  >is,  and  I 
liope  that  all  shades  of  bigotry  will  forever  flee  away;  but  I  see  old  men  here, 
wlio  remember  the  days  of  other  years.  I  myself  remember  will  the  strug- 
gle through  whicli  I,  wlien  a  youth,  was  called  to  pass  ;  and  we  know  the  op- 
position we  endured.  You  who  have  love  and  leisure  for  such  peru-al,  can 
find,  in  the  I'hiladelpliia  Uhrary,  some  pamjiiilels,  rare  and  rich,  that  show 
the  spirit  in  which  our  views  were  i-i'ceived  and  liie  inai.ncr  in  w  liicli  our 
Church  was  treated.  P.ut,  as  1  8aid  before,  1  trust  tliose  days  are  jmssing 
away.  OccaHU)nally  there  is  a  man  in  a  society,  here  and  there,  which  has 
not  roused  up  from  its  Kip  Vau  Winkle  sU-eji,  ami  that  is  hardly  aware  of  (he 
progress  of   Iho   age.     Now  we   take   brethreu    of  all   dt  iiomiiuilions   by  tho 


ADDRESS    OF   BISHOP   SIMPSON.  17 

hand.     We  invite  them  into  our  pulpits,  and  with  the  exception  of  one  or 
two  denominations,  others  invite  us  into  theirs. 

The  growtli  of  our  Church  by  whatever  means  produced,  was  not  because 
we  had  early  literary  institutions  or  literary  facilities.  In  the  colleges  of 
this  country,  such  as  Harvard,  and  Yale,  and  Princeton,  in  the  university  of 
this  city,  and  Columbia  College,  of  New  York,  institutions  venerable  with 
age,  grand  in  their  character,  and  which  have  exercised  a  controlling  influ- 
ence on  the  public  mind,  we  had  no  partin  their  control,  and  not  until 
about  forty  years  ago  had  we  respectable  literary  institutions  established  by 
our  own  means  and  under  the  control  of  our  own  friends. 

What  then  has  been  the  occasion  of  this  growth  ? 

I  may  answer,  we  recognise,  first,  and  chiefly,  the  blessing  of  almighty  God. 
To  Him  we  owe  whatever  we  are,  whatever  we  have  been  able  to  do.  Under 
His  blessing  I  think  we  owe  this  growth,  first,  to  our  doctrines.  Our  minis- 
ters have  sent  out  no  uncertain  sound  from  the  pulpit.  The  doctrine  of  free 
salvation  has  echoed  from  the  beginning  up  to  this  hour;  and  while  we  have 
recognized  our  mission  to  every  son  of  Adam  and  evei'y  daughter  of  Eve,  we 
have  been  able  to  go  with  the  consciousness  in  our  hearts  that  God's  mercy 
was  designed  for  every  one  of  them.  And  this  feeling  has  spread  abroad  : 
it  has  given  us,  I  believe,  in  part,  the  heart  of  the  masses ;  ministers 
have  gone  to  proclaim  to  every  man,  high  or  low,  the  riches  of  grace  in  Christ 
Jesus,  and  the  masses  have  gathered  around  them,  and  it  may  be  said  of  our 
ministers,  as  of  the  blessed  Saviour,  "  the  common  people  heard "  them 
"gladly." 

Not  only  have  we  proclaimed  a  free  salvation  to  all  mankind,  but  our  usages 
breathe  a  spirit  of  fraternal  love.  We  have  set  the  Church  at  work  every- 
where, and  Methodism  has  evoked  the  talent  of  the  Church  wherever  found, 
from  the  highest  to  the  lowest.  It  has  not  left  to  the  pulpit  the  work  to  be 
done,  but  it  has  called  upon  the  fathers  in  tlie  Church  and  upon  the  babes  in 
Israel.  And  the  moment  divine  grace  has  sought  the  heart  and  led  a  man 
to  the  altar  he  has  been  urged  to  tell  what  God  has  done  for  his  soul.  Thus 
the  talent  of  the  Church  has  been  called  into  exercise,  and  long  years  before 
there  were  Woman's  Rights  Conventions,  long  years  before  this  question  of 
the  relation  of  woman  to  society  and  the  Church  was  being  discussed,  Method- 
ism took  our  mothers  and  sisters  and  daughters  by  the  hand  and  told  them 
of  their  inalienable  rights  in  Christ  Jesus,  and  our  class-meetings  and  love- 
feasts  attested  llie  influence  of  Christian  experience  uttered  by  their  lips. 
Many  of  us  in  this  assembly  to-day,  owe  all  we  are  and  all  we  have  been  able 
to  do,  to  the  teachings  of  just  such  Christian  motiiers,  whose  prayers  we  heard 
from  our  earliest  infancy,  and  whose  tears  dropped  warm  upon  our  heads. 

It  is  thus  that,  whatever  may  be  its  defects,  Methodism,  going  with  a 
warm  heart  to  the  masses,  and  proclaiming  salvation,  has  sought  to  enlist 
their  sympathies  and  active  co-operation  in  the  advancement  of  the  Redeem- 
er's kingdom.  I  trust  the  same  spirit  will  ever  continue.  Our  churches, 
once  small  and  plain,  have  been  displaced  by  other  edifices  more  beautiful 
in  architecture.  Congregations,  large  and  refined  in  character,  are  found 
gathering  here  and  there  all  over  the  country.  I  rejoice  in  this,  chiefly,  that. 


18  •  MINUTES   OF   CONVENTION. 

with  every'external  improvement,  I  believe  tbe  Spirit  of  God  still  dwells  in 
the  bosom  of  the  Church,  and  that  in  the  midst  of  external  prosperity  we  are 
seeking  to  cultivate  true  piety  and  its  manifestation  in  works  of  mercy  and 
love.  I  think  a  liberal  spirit  is  developing  in  connection  with  religious  experi- 
ence; and  the  noble  offerings,  the  generous  donations,  the  sacrifices  made,  the 
broad  plans  formed,  the  strong  foundations  laid  for  works  of  benevolence,  at 
once  attest  the  faith  and  zeal  which  still  operate  in  the  Church  in  which  God 

has  placed  us. 

And  now,  brethren,  you  have  commenced  this  second  century  ;  I  trust  a 
glorious  career  is  before  you  ;  but  this  shall  be  only  by  the  continued  presence 
of  the  Spirit  of  God  among  us  ;  only  by  humility,  and  love,  and  zeal ;  only  by 
deep  earnestness  and  increased  activity.  Shall  we  have  that  earnestness? 
While  I  labor  as  I  may  for  improvements  in  every  form,  my  heart  pants  for 
the  old  spirit  of  deep  devotion  to  God,  for  the  manifestation  of  Christian 
earnestness  in  all  our  meetings  and  in  all  our  labors.  And  to  the  young 
men  of  the  Methodist  Church,  as  well  as  to  the  old  men,  I  would  say,  the 
strength  of  our  organization,  in  its  influence  on  society,  will  be  the  convic- 
tion that  God  is  still  among  us.  Show  it  in  your  prayers  ;  manifest  it  in 
your  deep  earnestness ;  go  talking  to  men  everywhere,  and  labor  to  bring 
sinners  to  Christ  and  prepare  souls  for  His  crown. 

The  minutes  of  the  afternoon  session  were  read  and  approved. 

On  motion  of  Ile\:.  P.  Coombe,  Dr.  George  Peck  was  elected 
a  special  Vice-President. 

On  motion  of  Dr.  Robert  H.  Pattison,  the  progrannne  pre- 
pared and  printed  by  the  General  Committee  of  Arrangements 
was  adopted  as  the  order  of  business  for  the  future  sessions  of 
the  Convention. 

The  President  announced  the  topic  of  the  evening  to  be 
"  Methodism,  its  growth,  and  present  position  in  the  State." 

Committee — Rev.  I.  H.  Torrence,  Rev.  W.  II.  Kincaid,  and 
J.  M.  Mari.s,  Esq. 

Rev.  I.  H.  Torrence,  chairman  of  the  Committee,  presented 
and  read  the  following  report : — 

Gll()\VTlI    AND    I'lUvSKNT     POSITION    OF     MeTIIODISM 

IN  THE  State. 

Tlie  edition  of  Christianity  called  Methodism,  was  introduced  into  Penn- 
sylvania l)y  Captain  TliciiiuiM  Webl),  in  I  lie  year  IT'iM,  if  not  in  ITf.T.  The 
first  class  formed  consisted  of  seven  persons.  He  proaclied  in  a  sail  loft,  at 
the  Boulh-cast  corner  of  Dock  Creek  and  Delaware  Uiver.  Here  (lie  class 
met.  In  176'J  one  hundred  years  ago,  the  Methodists  bought  the  build- 
ing ever  since  known  as  St.  George's,  located  al  the  corner  of  Knuitli  and 
New  Streets,  where  the  present  boanl  of  trustees  cordially  and  uti.uiiniously 


GROWTH  OF  METHODISM  IN  THE  STATE.  1 9 

inTited  this  Convention  to  hold  its  sessions.  But  the  growth  of  the  Cliurch 
since  1769  has  been  such  that  we  find  "  Old  St.  George's  "  could  not  so  well 
accommodate  the  Church  of  1870. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  includes,  in 
part  or  in  whole,  twelve  Annual  Conferences:  namely,  Philadelphia,  Central 
Pennsylvania,  Pittsburgh,  Erie,  Wyoming,  East  Genesee,  Genesee,  Baltimore, 
Newark,  Central  German,  East  German,  and  Delaware.  Of  these,  Phila- 
delphia and  Central  Pennsylvania  only,  lie  wholly  within  the  State. 

In  compiling  these  statistics  great  difficulty  has  been  encountered,  and 
care  taken  to  include  only  the  statistics  of  those  parts  of  the  Conference 
within  the  State. 

Clerical  Department. 

The  Ministry  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  the  State  of  Pennsyl- 
vania is  composed  as   follows: 

Resident  Bishop, 1 

Traveling  Preachers, 761 

Local  Preachers, 783 

Total, 1545 

The  Traveling  Preachers  may   be  classified  thus: 

Presiding   Elders, 24 

Piistors  of  Congregations, 630 

Officers  in  Educational  Institutions, 13 

Editors, 2 

Secretaries  and  Agents, 10 

Chaplains, 3 

Foreign  Missionaries,  2 

Supernumerary  and  Superannuated  Preachers, 77 

There  are  in  the  State  684  Circuits  and  Stations. 

Membership. 

The  whole  number  of  Members  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  the 
State  is  132,642.  Of  these  the  members  in  full  connection  number  112,127, 
and  those  on  probation  20,515;  to  these  add  the  clerical  force  of  1,545,  and 
we  have  a  grand  total  of  134,187. 

Estimating  the  population  of  the  State  at  3,500,000,  and  multiplying  our 
membership  by  three,  that  is  to  say,  a  Church  with  a  membership  of  100 
would  have  300  worshipers  in  the  congregation,  gives  us  a  Methodist  popu- 
lation of  402,561,  which  is  a  fraction  under  one-eighth  of  the  population  of 
the  State. 

Sunday-School  Work. 

The  Sunday-school  statistics  present  the  following  figures: 

Whole  number  of  Methodist  Episcopal  Sunday-schools 1,658 

Officers  and  Teachers '. 23,162 

"                   Scholars 144,243 

"                   Volumes  in  Libraries 419,642 

"                   Expenses  of  Schools  for  1869 $89,348 

The  number  of  children  in  the  State  between  the  ages  of  5  and  21  years  is 
950,000.     Of  this  number  850,000  are  in  attendance  at  the  Common  Schools 


20  MINUTES   OF   CONVENTION. 

of  the  State.  The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  [has  in  its  SunJay-schools 
144,243,  or  a  fraction  oyer  15  per  cent,  of  the  whole  number  of  children  in 
the  State.  It  will  thus  be  seen  that  we  are  large  contributors  to  the  educa- 
tional interests  of  the  youth  of  Pennsylvania.  We  are  reminded  here  of  the 
memorable  remark  of  our  lamented  late  President,  Abraham  Lincoln: 
"  Nobly  sustained  as  the  Government  has  been  by  all  the  Churches,  I  would 
utter  nothing  which  might  in  the  least  appear  invidious  against  any ;  yet 
without  this,  it  may  fairly  be  said,  that  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  not 
less  devoted  than  the  best,  is,  by  its  greater  numbers,  the  most  important  of 
all.  It  is  no  fault  in  others  that  the  Methodist  Church  sends  more  soldiers 
to  the  field,  more  nurses  to  the  hospitals,  and  more  prayers  to  heaven,  than 
any.  God  bless  the  Methodist  Chui-ch  !  bless  all  the  Churches  !  and  blessed 
be  God  who,  in  this  our  great  trial,  giveth  us  the  Churches.'" 

By  reference  to  the  Annual  Report  of  the  Supcrintendant  of  Soldiers'  Or- 
phans, made  to  the  Governor,  in  pursuance  of  law,  for  the  year  1869,  will  be 
found  the  following  facts:  "Of  3,715  children  actually  in  school  September 
1,  1869,  the  fathers  of  3,203  are  reported  as  members  of  some  Church,  leaving 
514  unconnected  with  Church  or  not  reported." 

Of  3,203  thus  reported,  there  were  of  Methodist  parentage,  1,269;  Lu- 
theran, 433;  Presbyterian,  412;  Baptists,  228;  German  Reformed,  166; 
Catholic,  157;  Episcopal,  157;  Protestant  (probably  not  intended  to  repre- 
sent any  particular  denomination),  149;  United  Brethren,  75;  Disciples,  35; 
Evangelical,  29;  Church  of  God,  26;  Tunkers,  18;  Universalists,  11;  Con- 
gregationalists,  8;  Friends,  6;  Albrights,  5;  Winebi-cnai'ians,  5;  Church  of 
Messiah,  4;  Adventists,  4;  Bethel,  Puritan,  Moravian,  and  Israelite,  each,  1. 

Church  Property. 

The  present  number  of  Churches  and  parsonages,  with  their  value,  is 
shown  by  the  following  figures: 

Number  of  Churches 1,250 

Value  of  "         $5,982,700 

Number  of  Parsonages 304 

Value  of  "         $709,446 

Total  value  of  Churches  and  Parsonages $6,692,146 

In  addition  to  the  above,  there  is  located  in  tlic  State  the  following  Church 
property,  viz.:  The  Methodist  Episcopal  Book  Room,  No.  1018  Arch  SlreeJ, 
Phihidolpliia,  is  the  property  of  the  Philadelphia  Conference  Tract  Society. 
It  has  been  in  existence  seventeen  years.  Its  expenditures  on  benevolent 
account  exceed  the  receipts  from  collections  over  $10,000;  tliis  deficit  is 
met  by  profits  of  the  book  sales.  Tlic  properly  cost  over  $35,000;  the  net 
worth  of  the  Society  is  about  $70,000.  The  annual  sales  of  books  amount 
to  nearly  $50,000. 

The  Society  took  the  load  in  furnisliing  first-class  accommodations  for  all 
Churcli  Meetings  in  wliicli  the  various  cliarges  are  interested.  Societies, 
Committees,  and  indeed  all  the  Methodist  family,  find  every  facility  to  con- 
centrate the  various  interests  of  tiie  Church.  The  whole  building  is  used  by 
the  Chui-ch  without  cost. 


GROWTH  OF  METHODISM  IN  THE  STATE.  21 

The  Metlioclist  Book  Rooms  located  in  Pittsburgh :  the  property  valued  at 
$80,000,  and  doing  a  great  work,  not  only  in  Pennsylvania,  but  in  Ohio  and 
Virginia. 

Tlie  Pittsburgh  Christian  Advocate,  located  in  Pittsburgh,  with  a  working 
capital  of  about  $30,000. 

The  Me/hodist  Home  Journal,  located  in  Philadelphia,  tliough  not  a  Churcli 
paper,  is  doing  a  fair  proportion  of  the  blessed  work  of  spreading  Scriptural 
holiness  over  the  land. 

The  Church  Extension  Society  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was  or- 
ganized by  order  of  the  General  Conference,  held  in  Union  Church,  Phila- 
delphia, in  1864,  and  was  incorporated  by  the  Legislature  of  Pennsylvania 
in  March,  1805. 

Though  for  a  time  it  labored  under  the  most  serious  embarrassments,  it 
has  risen  more  rapidly  in  the  favor  of  the  Church,  and  in  efficiency  and  power 
for  good,  than  any  other  of  our  Church  Societies. 

Since  its  organization  it  has  received  and  disbursed  over  a  quarter  of  a 
million  of  dollai's,  and  has  aided  about  five  hundred  different  churches, 
scattered  from  Maine  to  California  and  from  the  Lakes  to  the  Gulf. 

It  now  takes  rank  next  to  our  great  Missionary  Society,  of  which  it  is  the 
most  important  auxiliary. 

Benevolent  Contributions. 

The  following  are  the  amounts  paid  by  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Churches 
in  the  State,  as  returned  in  the  official  statistics  for  1869: 

Raised  for  the  Parent  Missionary  Society  $97,723 

"  'iConference  Claimants 21,213 

"  American  Bible  Society 7,485 

"  Church  Extension  Society 11,143 

«'  Sunday-school  Union 2,788 

»  Tract  Cause 4,098 

Total $144,350 

These  returns  do  not  include  the  sums  paid  for  the  support  of  the  Freed- 
man's  Aid  Society,  local  missionaries  and  educational  societies,  and  other 
miscellaneous  benevolent  institutions. 

The  following  resolution   presented  by  the  Committee  was 
unanimously  adopted,  viz.: 

Resolved,  That  in  view  of  the  facts  here  presented,  we  should  be  profoundly 
grateful  to  God,  whose  servants  we  are,  and  labor  on  in  faith,  depending,  not 
on  our  numbers  or  our  wealth,  but  on  the  great  Head  of  the  Church,  in 
whom  our  beloved  Wesley  begun  the  work,  and  to  whom  he,  in  his  dying 
breath,  said — "  The  best  of  all,  God  is  with  us." 

The  attention  of  the  Convention  was  called  to  the  omission 


22  MINUTES   OF   CONVENTION. 

in  the  Report  of  $50,000  already  secured  to  the  "  Ladies' 
United  Aid  Society  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  for  the 
benefit  of  aged  and  infirm  members;"  to  the  absence  of  all 
statistics  relating  to  the  Educational  Interests  of  the  Church 
(for  ^\-hich  see  Report  of  the  Committee  on  the  Educational  In- 
terests of  the  Church) ;  and  to  the  failure  to  notice  the  interest 
held  in  the  Pittsburgh  Book  Depository. 

Mr.  Torrence  said  there  were  probably  more  defects  in  the 
Report,  as  the  Conference  Statistics  were  incomplete. 

John  W.  Maris,  Esq. :  The  Committee  were  requested,  not 
only  to  obtain  certain  statistics,  but  also  to  make  a  comparison 
as  to  the  growth  of  Methodism  in  the  past  ten  years,  but,  with 
the  material  at  hand,  found  it  impossible. 

The  information  furnished  by  Conference  Minutes  is  not  uni- 
form. One  matter  of  great  interest  is  ministerial  support,  but 
we  were  not  able  to  get  the  data. 

After  considerable  discussion  the  following  resolution  was 
carried : 

Resolved,  That  the  Committee  be  requested  to  add  any  additional  facts 
that  may  come  to  their  knowledge  before  publishing  their  report, 

Durino-  the  session 

Rev.  J.  Walker  Jackson  said  :  By  the  report  just  read  it  is 
shown  that  we  control  one-eighth  of  the  population  of  the  State, 
and,  at  the  same  time,  are  educating  religiously  one-sixth  of  the 
children.  This,  he  thought,  was  cause  for  devout  gratitude.  If 
we  control  one-eighth  of  the  population  now  and  are  educating 
one-sixth  of  the  children,  that  is  one-twenty-fourth  more  of  the 
children  than  of  the  adult  population,  what  may  we  expect  in 
half  a  century  hence,  as  to  our  growth  and  relation  to  the  po- 
pulation ? 

Captain  Fred.  Schluembach  :  Before  the  Convention  adjourns 
I  wish  to  say  a  few  words  witli  reference  to  a  remark  made  by 
our  President,  Bishop  Simpson,  in  liis  address.  He  said  that 
Methodism  owes  nothing  of  its  growth  to  foreign  emigration. 
It  is  a  great  grief  to  my  heart  to  know  that  this  is  so.  They 
have  aided  the  oj)positioii  l<.  our  Church.  But  I  wish  to  im- 
press upon  111"'    minds  ol'  mem))ers  of  this   Convention  that  we 


ESSAY  OF  DR.  HODGSON.  23 

could  add  a  great  many  of  them  to  our  Church  if  we  would  go 
after  them.  Many  of  them  come  to  this  country  at  least  nomi- 
nally religious,  but,  not  finding  the  Church  here  what  it  is 
at  home,  they  do  not  connect  themselves  with  it,  and  having  no 
Church-home  arc  lost.  I  hope  the  Methodist  Church  will  look 
after  these  people,  and  then  they  will  not  have  it  to  say,  at 
least  of  the  German  emigration,  that  they  have  not  been 
strengthened  by  it. 

The  Convention    then  sang  the   doxology   and   adjourned. 
Rev.  Dr.  Cooke  pronouncing  the  benediction. 


THIRD  SESSION. 

Horticultural  Hall,  Philadelphia, 

Wednesday  Morning,   Oct.  IMh. 

The  Methodist  State  Convention  met  according  to  adjourn- 
ment at  nine  o'clock. 

Bishop  M.  Simpson,  D.  D.,  in  the  chair. 

Religious  services  conducted  by  Dr.  Geo.  Peck. 

The  minutes  of  the  last  session  read  and  approved. 

The  Topic  of  the  present  session  was  announced  by  the  Chair 
to  be — "  The  Type  of  Piety  necessary  to  the  highest  prosperity 
of  the  Church." 

Committee — Rev.  Geo.  Peck,  D.  D.,  Rev.  G.  D.  Carrow, 
D.  D.,  and  Rev.  F.  Hodgson,  D.  D. 

The  Report  of  the  Committee  was  presented  and  read  by 
Rev.  Dr.  Hodgson,  as  follows : 

Essay  of  Rey.  F.  Hodgson,  D.  D. 

We  are  reminded  by  the  address  and  the  discussions  of  yesterday  of  that 
interesting  scene  depicted  by  Jewish  history,  in  which  a  prophet — not  Jew- 
ish— was  invoked  by  a  jealous  and  fearful  king  to  curse  Israel;  but  instead 
of  cursing,  as  was  desired,  he  broke  out  in  inspired  strains  of  gratulalion 
and  blessing.  From  a  lofty  eminence  we  have  surveyed  our  Methodist ic  Is- 
rael, and  have  been  ready  to  exclaim  with  him:  "  How  goodly  are  ihy  tents. 
O  Jacob,  and  thy  tabernacles,  0  Israel!" 

But  we  are  not  here  to  vie  with  each  other  in  laudations  of  past  successor  of 


24        -  MINUTES   OF   CONVENTION. 

present  greatness.  The  centenary  celebration  afforded  us  an  ample  oppor- 
tunity for  grateful  retrospection.  Our  thoughts  and  anxieties  are  now  turned 
mainl}'  toward  the  future.  AVe  feel  that  we  have  responsibilities  in  regard 
to  the  future.  "What  will  that  future  be? — the  future,  not  only  of  that  ab- 
stract something  which  we  call  Methodism,  but  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  Will  the  Church  continue  to  prosper?  Will  our  Zion  continue  to 
lengthen  her  cords,  and  strengthen  her  stakes,  and  stretchforth  the  bounds 
of  her  habitation?  Will  we,  in  proportion  to  our  power  and  opportunity,  co- 
operate efficiently  with  the  other  general  divisions  of  the  Church  of  Christ? 
We  know  that,  if  faithful,  our  future  must  be  glorious.  AVho  can  measure 
the  influence  for  good  which,  if  true  to  itself  and  to  God,  our  Church  will 
exert  a  century  hence,  or  half  a  century,  or  a  quarter  of  a  century?  Think 
what  Church  edifices  we  shall  have  builded!  what  missions  we  shall  have 
founded!  what  trophies  we  shall  have  won  for  Christ  in  the  great  conflict 
with  Satan  and  his  hosts!  what  multitudes  of  sinners  converted  from  the 
error  of  their  way!  what  millions  dismissed  with  white  robes,  and  palms, 
and  songs  triumphant,  to  the  assembly  of  the  glorified! 

It  is  u'ise,  then,  in  us,  to  ask  ourselves  tlie  question — What  type  of  piety  is 
necessary  to  the  liighest  prosperity  of  the  Church? 

Among  the  elements  of  Church  prosperity  we  place  numbers — ratio  of  in- 
crease— numbers  bearing  an  encouraging  proportion,  not  only  to  other  re- 
ligious denominations,  but  to  the  whole  population.  A  Church  cannot  be 
said  to  be  prospering  that  is  not  making  good  progress  in  this  respect.  Pe- 
cuniary  resources  must  also  be  included.  Money  is  indispensable,  and  the 
more  there  is  of  it  in  the  Church  the  better  it  is  for  the  Church,  if  it  be 
honestly  obtained  and  consecrated  to  right  uses.  Another  element  is  found 
\n  places  of  worship,  adequate  in  numbers  and  well  adapted  to  the  wants  and 
tastes  of  those  who  are  to  occupy  them. 

Indispensable  to  the  prosperity  of  a  Church  are  educational  facilities,  suffi- 
ciently under  its  control  to  protect  its  sons  and  daughters  against  infidel  and 
irreligious  and  otherwise  antagoiiislic  influences,  and  to  afford  means  of  pre- 
paration for  its  young  ministers.  Very  prominent  among  the  elements  of 
success  is  a  restless,  irrepressible  spirit  of  {iropayandisin,  with  effective  means 
thereof.  Another  is  to  be  found  in  an  ample  supply  of  devoted  and  efficient 
ministers.  One,  not  by  any  means  to  be  overlooked,  is  a  creed,  so  obviously 
Scriptural,  and  in  accordance  wiih  llie  suggestions  and  observations  of  com- 
mon sense,  as  to  command,  not  only  tlie  assent,  but  also  the  affections  of  its 
ministers  and  people.  Such  a  creed,  thank  God,  is  ours.  Also  a  yovernmcnt, 
wliich  is  mainly  the  outgrowth  of  the  spiritual  life  of  the  body,  and  distin- 
guished by  its  adaptation  to  the  leading  objects  of  corporate  churcli  existence. 
.\nother  is  n  yeneral  harnumy,  witli  so  much  difference  of  opinion  and  agita- 
tion of  (jueslions  as  belong  to  freedom  of  thouglit  and  its  brotherly  and 
Christian  expression.  Nor  would  wo  omit  to  mention  territorial  expansion, 
and  Mil  intention  to  occupy,  nil  iinalcly,  all  grmiiid  nut  already  occupied  by 
organi/iil  ions  to  which  we  can  conscientiously  entrust  the  spiritual  interests 
of  the  people.     A  prosperous  Church  is  ever  saying,  "Give  room  that  wo 


ESSAY  OF  DR.  HODGSON.  2o 

may  dwell."  But  the  chief  element  of  prosperity — that  without  which  all 
the  rest  are  of  no  avail — is  the  salvation  of  men  upon  a  large  scale, — their 
salvation  from  sin,  its  guilt  and  condemnation,  its  power,  its  conse- 
quences; their  conversion  and  sanctificalion  and  final  entrance  into  the 
everlasting  kingdom  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ. 

It  is  for  this  that  the  Church  was  instituted.  Other  important  objects  may 
be  promoted  by  it,  as  the  reinforcement  of  the  State  in  its  efforts  to  secure 
social  order,  with  a  variety  of  interests  of  which  the  State  takes  no  cogni- 
zance; yet  who  does  not  see  and  feel  and  acknowledge  that,  though  there 
should  be  all  other  possible  forms  of  success,  a  failure  at  this  point  would 
be  a  failure  of  the  great  object  for  which  the  Church  exists? 

The  question  of  the  hour  assumes,  that  piety  is  essential  to  the  Church's 
prosperity. 

It  7Hust  be  real. 

This  proposition  would  be  unnecessary  and  even  without  verbal  pro- 
priety, were  it  not  that  the  term  piety  is  often,  by  common  consent,  applied 
to  mere  semblances  of  piety,  and  even  substitutes  for  it.  Its  lowest  mani- 
festation is  a  fear  of  God,  restraining  from  sin.  with  a  deferential,  if  not 
reverential,  regard  for  the  ordinances  of  God's  house,  and  an  effort,  more 
or  less  strenuous,  to  worship  God  therein,  not  omitting  private  devotions; 
but  all  this  without  the  peace  and  joy  of  assured  acceptance  with  God.  Mr. 
Wesley,  iu  one  of  his  sermons,  characterizes  this  class  as  servants  in  contra- 
distinction to  sons.  Probably  a  large  proportion  of  the  members  of  the 
Christian  Church  consists  of  this  class.  But  it  is  obvious  that,  whatever 
services  such  may  render  to  the  Church — and  some  of  them  do  render  to  it 
very  valuable  services — they  cannot  advance  it  to  its  highest  prosperity. 
The  experi.ence  of  its  members  must  correspond  with  these  apostolical  de- 
scriptions: "And  such  were  some  of  yo'i,  but  ye  are  washed,  but  ye  are 
sanctified,  but  ye  are  justified  iu  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  by  the 
Spirit  of  our  God."  "  Therefore,  being  justified  by  faith,  we  have  peace 
with  God  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  By  whom  also  we  liave  access,  by 
faith,  into  this  grace  wherein  we  stand,  and  rejoice  in  hoJDe  of  the  glory  of 
God."  "There  is,  therefore,  now  no  condemnation  to  them  which  are  in 
Christ  Jesus,  who  walk  not  after  the  flesh  but  after  the  Spirit.  For  the  law 
of  the  Spirit  of  life  in  Christ  Jesus  hath  made  me  free  from  the  law  of  sin 
and  death."  "lam  crucified  with  Christ,  nevertheless  I  live;  yet  not  I, 
but  Christ  liveth  in  me :  and  the  life  which  I  now  live  in  the  flesh  I  live  by 
the  faith  of  the  Son  of  God,  who  loved  me  and  gave  Himself  for  me." 
"  Wherefore  come  out  from  among  them,  and  be  ye  separate,  saith  the  Lord, 
and  touch  not  the  unclean  thing ;  and  I  will  receive  you,  and  will  be  a  Father 
unto  you,  and  ye  shall  be  my  sons  and  daughters,  saith  the  Lord  Almighty." 
"  For  as  many  as  are  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  they  are  the  sons  of  God. 
For  ye  have  not  received  the  spirit  of  bondage  again  to  fear;  but  ye  have 
received  the  Spirit  of  adoption,  whereby  we  cry,  Abba,  Father.  The  Spirit 
itself  beareth  witness  with  our  spirit  that  we  are  the  children  of  God." 
Here  is  liberty  !  Here  is  the  peace  which  passeth  understanding— the  joy  to 
sensual  minds  unknown— the  hope   wliich  is  as  an  anchor  to  the  soul  both 


26  MINUTES   OF   CONVENTIOX. 

sure  and  steadfast — the  faith  which  invests  with  all  the  power  of  present, 
visible,  tangible  realities,  future,  unseen,  and  eternal  things,  and  thus  over- 
comes the  world^the  courage  indomitable;  and  the  strength  which  cometh 
of  "  the  joy  of  the  Lord,"  as  well  as  by  direct  supernatural  impartation. 

There  are  some  things  to  be  avoided,  if  we  would  leail  on  our  division  of  the 
great  sacramental  hosts  of  God's  elect  to  complete  triumph.  We  must  guard 
against  the  tendencies  to  ritualism.  The  Sacraments  roust  not  be  lightly 
esteemed,  but  they  must  not  be  misunderstood.  The  Church  must  lose  by 
their  neglect,  but  she  may  lose  immeasurably  more  by  their  perversion.  Is 
there  not  a  leaning  in  the  minds  of  some  Methodists  to  the  doctrine  of  bap" 
tismal  regeneration?  May  God  mercifully  save  us  from  a  doctrine  which 
deposes  faith  from  the  office  wliich  Christ  and  His  Apostles  assign  it,  and 
puts  something  between  it  and  the  sinner's  justification  ;  which  makes  salva- 
tion impossible  to  many  who,  nevertheless,  have  every  thing  necessary  to  re- 
pentance towards  God  and  faith  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  which  repre- 
sents God  as  having,  by  a  solemn  charter,  put  it  out  of  His  power  to  save  the 
believing  applicant — to  have  mercy  upon  whom  He  has  said  lie  will  have 
mercy — without  the  consent  and  official  intervention  of  a  man,  wlio  may  be 
sick  and  disabled,  or  lazy  and  indifferent,  or  drunken,  or  engaged  in  fox 
hunting  or  card-playing,  or  bigoted,*or  malignant  and  persecuting,  ami  may 
veto  the  whole  procedure,  and  send  tlie  Holy  Spirit  back  to  heaven  with  His 
work  undone,  and  the  poor  penitent  to  hell;  which  involves  the  doctrine  of 
infant  damnation  ;  which  has  filled  Churches  with  worldly,  irreligious,  and 
even  immoral  members;  v/hich  paralyzes  the  arm  of  Church  discipline;  and 
is  one  of  the  most  fearful  and  effective  engines  of  spiritual  despotism  and 
tyranny ! 

We  must  also  guard  against  that  dead  formalism  which  may  exist  where 
there  are  no  tendencies  to  ritualism.  Of  this  we  have  had  many  striking 
examples. 

There  is  also  that  form  of  religious  cult\ire  and  manifestation  which 
magnifies  un<luly  the  emotional  pari.  If  the  sensibilities  are  easily  and 
highly  excited  by  sacred  song,  or  fervid  oratory,  it  is  felt  to  be  of  less  account 
whether  the  tempers  are  governed,  or  the  laws  of  veracity  and  fair  dealing 
observeil. 

On  tlie  other  hand,  this  part  of  the  religious  life  may  be  disparaged  and 
depressed,  to  the  great  detriment  of  the  Church,  under  tlie  pretext  of  culti- 
vating the  conscience  and  the  moral  principles.  Tlic  religion  of  Clirist  in- 
cludes ileeply  rooted  principles,  and  a  ((uick  and  vigorous  conscience.  It  is 
emphatically  a  religion  of  law.  It  loves  the  divine  precepts  and  seeks  to 
know  all  of  them,  and  also  to  do  them;  but  it  presses  into  its  service  alt  our 
emotions.  It  stirs  tliem.  Tlieir  power  is  indispensable.  Iain  inclined  to 
tliink  tliat  experimental  religion  is  intended  to  supply  our  nature  with  all 
llie  excitement  it  needs,  ii  inoposes  to  i)ut  gladness  into  our  lie;ii-is,  .Hiid 
bids  us  "rejoice  evermore."  It  oilers  us  enterprises  of  sullicient  ningnitude 
and  intcrcHl  to  exhaust  all  llie  enlliusiasm  we  are  cajjable  of.  It  is  the  ab- 
Boncc  of  religious  joy  and  enthusiasm  whicli  makes  tlio  liieatre  and  the 
opera   and    the   hop    of  so  much   account    with   some   professed  Clirisliuns. 


ESSAY  OF  DK.  HODGSON.  27 

And  if  the  feelings  and  their  expression  are  to  be  kept  under  such  imperi- 
ous and  majestic  control  in  the  house  of  God,  as  that  there  cannot  be  an 
amen  except  it  be  read  from  the  book,  and  hosannas  and  hallelujahs  are 
contraband  and  disorderly,  except  as  they  come  from  a  godless  and  paid 
quartette,  human  nature  will  generally  assert  and  indemnify  itself  by  wild 
excitements  elsewhere,  and  under  other  circumstances.  The  fervor,  tho 
highly  excited  sensibility,  the  joy,  the  rapturous  exultation,  and  the  demon- 
strative character  of  Methodism,  have  given  it  much  of  its  peculiar  power  in 
the  past.  Should  these  cease,  the  Church  will  become  worldly,  and  weak, 
and  some  other  embodiment  of  religious  vitality  will  rise  up  to  take  its  place. 
Certain  other  defective  types  of  religious  character  may  be  desci-ibed 
thus:  there  are  those  who  are  ever  ready  to  pray  in  public  and  bear  their 
testimony  and  visit  the  sick.  They  have  a  blessing  for  every  good  cause 
and  for  all  the  poor.  They  say,  "  Be  ye  fed  and  be  ye  clothed,"  and  to 
Church  debts  and  the  minister,  Be  ye  paid;  but  they  do  not  give,  or  if  they 
give,  they  do  it  sparingly  and  grudgingly.  It  is  understood  that  they  can 
do  the  praying,  but  others  must  do  the  paying. 

These  remarks  have  reference,  of  course,  to  those  who  can  pay  if  they 
will.  There  are  those  who,  in  the  providence  of  God,  have  nothing  but  sym- 
pathy and  kind  words,  and  prayers  and  blessings.  For  these  they  will  be 
rewarded  at  the  resurrection  of  the  just.     They  would  do  more. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  are  those  who  seem  to  measure  their  piety,  and 
the  piety  of  others,  by  the  extent  of  their  donations.  They  will  not  lead 
class,  or  pray  in  public,  or  speak  in  love-feast,  or  attend  the  class-meeting. 
It  is  a  great  cross  to  them  to  speak  upon  the  subject  of  their  personal  re- 
ligious experience.  They  will  not  visit  the  sick,  or  speak  to  their  neigh- 
bors on  the  subject  of  religion,  but  they  will  give  large  sums  for  the  mis- 
sionary cause  and  church-building,  and  the  like.  The  minister  has  no  ground 
to  complain  of  them  in  reference  to  his  support.  They  do  their  full  share  of 
giving;  and  they  seem  to  think  that  in  this  way  they  have  compensated  for 
all  real  or  seeming  deficiencies,  and  placed  themselves  near  the  apex  of 
Christian  excellence.  Let  a  brother,  testifying  to  the  power  of  divine  grace, 
claim  to  have  gained  a  complete  triumph  over  all  sin,  they  will  instantly 
ask,  "  Does  he  give  any  more?"  If  not,  he  must  not  put  his  claims  to  holi- 
ness in  comparison  with  theirs. 

There  is  a  style  of  piety  which  aims  at  professing  a  good  profession  be- 
fore many  witnesses.  No  public  occasion  is  lost.  It  is  sure  to  be  at  the  large 
breakfast  or  the  reunion  of  city  churches.  This  is  its  great  point;  but  pri- 
vate religion  is  not  scrupulously  attended  to.  High  profession  suffers  the 
disadvantage  of  association  with  glaring  defects  of  moral  character. 

There  is  another  style  which  avoids  profession.  It  has  no  religion  to  talk 
about,  or,  if  it  attempt  a  statement  of  personal  experience,  it  is  in  terms  so 
self-depreciating  you  might  almost  conclude  that  unsuccessful  conflicts  with 
innate  depravity  were  its  loft'iest  ideas  of  personal  religion.  The  grace  of 
God  is  not  honored  by  it.  God  is  not  thereby  glorified.  If  it  stood  alone  in 
the  world,  the  question  might  well  be  raised  whether  what   the  Scriptures 


28  MINUTES   OF   CONVENTIOlSr. 

and  the  preachers  say  about  peace  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  power 
over  sin,  is  not  mere  utopianism — a  beautiful  theory,  but  wholly  im- 
practicable. 

There  is  also  the  periodic  type.  It  comes  on  on  Sundays  and  intermits  dur- 
ing the  week,  and  sometimes  entirely  for  mouths,  and  reappears  at  the  pro- 
tracted meeting,  or  the  revival,  with  encouraging  but  delusive  promise  of 
permanence. 

The  type  of  piety  necessary  to  the  highest  prosperity  of  the  Church  must 
unite  what  is  good  in  all  types.  It  must  have  its  beginning  in  conviction 
for  sin — a  painful  conviction  that  sin  begets  trouble,  that  the  way  of  trans- 
gi-essors  is  hard,  with  a  consciousness  of  personal  condemnation.  This 
must  graduate  into  repentance — a  sense  of  dissatisfaction,  not  with  God's 
law  and  administration,  but  with  our  own  condition  and  conduct  as  wholly 
in  the  wrong,  and  with  sin  itself  as  an  abominable  thing,  justly  hated  and 
punished  by  God.  This  must  eventuate  in  strong  faith  in  Christ — a  trust  in 
Him. — in  His  atonement  as  the  only  ground  of  salvation,  and  His  power  and 
willingness  to  save  to  the  uttermost;  a  faith  bringing  justification — a  full 
pardon,  which  is  ever  accompanied  with  regeneration  and  adoption,  and  an 
impression  made  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  called  the  witness  of  the  Spirit,  that 
these  changes  have  taken  place;  an  impression  which  removes  the  sense  of 
condemnation,  and  brings  peace  and  joy  and  increasing  confidence,  and 
which  intensifies  the  love  to  God  implanted  in  regeneration.  It  must  be  a 
piety  which  practices  self-denial,  endures  the  cross,  and  despises  the  shame; 
which  loves  the  Church  and  its  ordinances;  which  bears  its  testimony  to 
God's  power  to  save,  and  its  consciousness  of  personal  salvation;  which  aims 
at  the  conversion  of  the  world  to  Christ;  which  loves  the  Church  and  its 
ordinances  above  all  other  institutions,  and  yet,  is  highly  patriotic ;  which 
is  industrious,  temperate,  frugal,  making  money  when  it  can  honestlj^  and 
giving  it  freely  but  judiciously,  doing  good  to  the  souls  and  bodies  of  men. 
feeding  the  hungry,  clothing  the  naked,  visiting  the  sick  ;  which  despises  a 
slavish  conformity  to  the  world's  fashions,  condemns  and  repudiates  its  fol- 
lies and  wasteful  expenditures,  and  yet  is  courteous,  refined,  and  elegant.  It 
must  be  a  piety  which  insists  imperatively  upon  being  present  and  presiding 
over  the  parlor,  the  drawing-room,  the  dining-room,  the  nursery,  the  kit- 
chen, the  store,  the  counting-room,  the  office,  the  exchange,  the  field,  the 
barn,  tlie  political  assembly,  the  hall  of  justice,  the  senate  and  all  the  high 
places  of  national  authority,  as  well  as  in  the  assemblies  and  judicatories  of 
the  Church — a  piety  which  is  all-pervading ;  which  carries  in  its  heart,  and 
exemplifies  in  its  practice,  the  comprehensive  law:  "Whether,  therefore,  ye 
eat  or  drink,  or  whatsoever  ye  do,  do  all  to  the  glory  of  God." 

Perhaps  some  one  is  ready  to  say.  Will  the  essayist  nuikc  no  reference  to 
the  doctrine  of  entire  sanctification  ?  Does  he  not  believe  it  ?  I  do.  Yes, 
I  do — as  firmly  as  I  believe  the  doctrine  of  the  divinity  of  Christ,  or  of 
atonement  by  Christ,  or  of  justification  by  faith,  orof  the  resurrection  of  tlie 
dead,  or  of  future  and  eternal  punishment,  or  of  everlasting  glory  and  happi- 
ness for  the  righteous. 

Jf  the  inspired  writers  pray  that  tiie  people  of  God  may  be  iiuide  iiud  kept 


ESSAY  OF  DR.  HODGSON.  29 

entirely  holy  in  this  life;  if  they  declare  it  to  be  the  design  of  God,  in  the 
plan  of  salvation  that  Christians  should  be  thus  purified  and  preserved  ;  if, 
in  accordance  with  these  facts,  entire  holiness  is  explicitly  and  peremptorily  * 
enjoined  by  the  great  Author  of  our  salvation;  if  the  Apostles  exhort  Chris- 
tians to  direct  efforts  to  attain  to  it;  if  they  propose  it  as  the  constant  aim 
of  Christians;  if  they  declare  it  to  be  the  great  object  of  all  their  teaching 
and  other  labors;  if  entire  holiness  is  the  standard  to  which  they  sought  to 
conform  their  own  experience;  if  divine  influences,  both  necessary  and  suffi- 
cient to  place  and  maintain  Christians  in  that  state,  are  promised  ;  further, 
if  it  is  alleged  to  be  a  fact  in  the  divine  administration  that  God  does  confer 
the  promised  grace  on  those  that  seek  it;  and  if  examples  are  recorded  in 
which  it  was  attained  and  exemplified,  what  remains  but  that  I  must  accept 
the  doctrine  and  maintain  it?  I  love  it.  I  love  those  that  love  it.  And  I 
love  them  the  more  because  they  love  it.  That  there  are  doctrines  con- 
nected with  it  which  are  not  true,  and  imperfect  expositions  of  it,  and 
measures  employed  for  its  promotion  which  are  open  to  criticism,  and  dan- 
gers to  guard  against,  I  do  not  deny,  but  I  am  determined  not  to  be  the  mere 
watch-dog  of  orthodoxy,  barking  and  howling,  and  kept  back  by  an  invisible 
chain,  while  my  brethren,  with  some  errors,  as  I  suppose,  go  into  the  ban- 
queting-house  of  the  great  King,  and  sit  down  to  the  feast  of  fat  things.  I 
intend  to  go  in  with  them  and  partake  of  the  rich  provision.  I  do  not  claim 
to  be  better  in  this  respect  than  any  of  my  brethren  of  the  Convention. 

Finally,  the  inquiry  resolves  itself  into  this:  "What  is  the  will  of  God  in 
Christ  Jesus  concerning  us?  The  question  before  us  is  not  left  to  the  dis- 
cretion of  the  Church.  Much  has  been  said  by  writers  and  preachers  about 
elevating  the  standard  of  piety  in  the  Church.  That  is  fixed.  We  cannot 
change  it.  We  may  improve  greatly  the  average  of  the  Church's  piety,  but 
not  its  standard.  There  it  is  uplifted  as  a  manifestation  of  the  manifold 
wisdom  of  God,  to  the  ends  of  the  earth  and  to  all  the  coming  ages. 

The  piety  in  demand  unites  diligent  self-culture  with  a  constant  and  com- 
plete reliance  upon  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  does  honor  to  the  superior  spiritu- 
ality of  the  present  and  final  dispensation.  It  asks  to  be  ever  filled  with  the 
Spirit.     It  asks  importunately.     It  says  : 

«'  I  will  not  let  Thee  go  without  Thy  blessing. 
Bv  Thy  great  name  I  enter  my  protest, 
Never  to  leave  Thee  till  I  see  Thy  word 
Accomplished  to  my  vows  ;  till  then,  with  full 
And  cloudless  demonstration,  to  my  soul, 
Confirm  Thy  promised  grace." 

It  puts  its  aspirations  into  song.     It  is  ever  praying  and  singing  : 

«'  My  earth  Thou  wat'rest  from  on  high, 
But  make  it  all  a  pool ; 
Spring  up,  0  well,  I  ever  cry. 
Spring  up  witliin  my  soul ! 


30  MIXDTES  OF  CONVENTION. 

Come,  0  my  God,  Thyself  reveal, 

Fill  all  this  mighty  void  ; 
Thou  only  canst  ray  spirit  till. 

Come,  0  my  God,  my  God !  " 

This  must  be  the  experience  not  of  a  few  only.  For  in  every  branch  of  the 
Christian  Church  there  are  some  exemplifying  the  highest  stj'le  of  Christian 
manhood  and  womanhood.  It  must  be  the  experience  of  the  masses  in  the 
Church,  of  all  its  members,  or  with  few  exceptions.  Discipline  must  do  its 
work.  The  rich  and  the  poor,  the  learned  and  the  unlearned,  the  old  and 
the  young,  must  press  towards  the  mark.     Give  us  one  such  Church  as  this. 

0  Lord,  if  it  be  Thy  will,  let  it  be  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church— not  to 
stand  alone  but  to  lead  oif — the  rest  will  soon  follow  and  stand  abreast  with 
us.  Then  will  the  great  Church  militant  move  on  to  decisive  victory.  It 
will  set  up  the  banner  of  the  cross  all  over  the  earth.  As  a  polished  mirror 
it  will  reflect  the  glory  of  God  in  vivid  and  flashing  coruscations  upon  the 
heavens,  and  the  millennium  will  soon  come. 

After  the  reading  of  the  essay  an  opportunity  was  given  for 
remarks  upon  the  topic. 

Hev.  B.  G.  Paddock — This  venerable  father  took  tlie  platform,  and,  with 
a  countenance  radiant  with  joy,  said:  "  I  wish  I  could  convey  to  tlie  mem- 
bers of  this  Convention  the  feelings  that  fill  my  soul.  The  essay  to  whit  h 
we  have  listened  has  lifted  me  up.     1  iiave  got  quite  up  above  the  surface. 

1  have  known  something  of  this  religion,  to  which  refei'cnce  has  been  made, 
for  sixty-six  years." 

Father  Paddock  proceeded  feelingly  to  speak  of  bis  early  conversion  and 
call  to  the  ministry,  and  said  that  if  he  had  his  life  to  live  over  again  he 
would  rather  be  an  itinerant  iNIothodist  minister  than  fill  any  oflice  in  tlie 
gift  of  man.  He  found  religion  more  and  more  precious  as  he  advanced  in 
years,  and  had  a  higher  appreciation  of  the  value  of  the  liumau  soul  in  his 
later  years  than  ever  before.  He  closed  with  an  exhortation  to  liis  brethren 
in  the  ministry  to  be  faithful  in  their  great  work. 

Rev.  15.  H.  Cukvkh — Tlie  subject  before  us  is  one  of  such  overpowering 
magnitude  that  I  feel  for  one  tiiat  I  cannot  8uff"er  it  to  pass  without  con- 
tributing at  least  a  word.  It  was  the  expression  of  Junius,  oven  under  a 
pagan  civilization,  "  Life  is  short  liut  art  is  long;"  and  hence  the  gn-at  effort 
to  einlxidy  the  beautiful,  to  clothe  the  highest  ideal  of  the  beautiful,  in  some 
permanent  form  that  might  be  crystalized  for  all  ages.  Hence  it  is  said  of 
the  Greeks,  that  they  were  the  apostles  of  the  beautiful.  The  same  remark, 
in  a  higher  sense,  may  be  ofTereil  to  day.  Life  is  still  short,  but  there  is  the 
i<leul  of  true  beauty,  founded  upon  moral  and  spiritual  excellence,  to  which 
it  is  the  jirivilege  of  individuals,  and  of  communilies,  and  (if  ili(>  Cliureh  of 
JcsiiH  Christ,  continually  to  aspire;  and  in  view  of  the  extreme  brevity  of 
life,  how  are  we  called  upon  to  lose  no  time  in  securing  (he  eiiibodiiiient  of 
this  moral  and  H|)iritual  excellence.  I  rejoice  that  we  have  an  experii'iico  of 
thiM  Hubject  which  fills  the  soul  with  its  ravishing  excell  Micf  ami  with  its 
glorious  fulness.     I  feel  perfectly  assured  (hat  every  man  who  lias  bci  n  hm  ii 


ADDRESS  OF  REV.  T^.  ir.  CREVER.  31 

into  the  kingdom  of  Jesus  Christ  and  who  feels  the  inspiring  consciousness 
(if  tiie  Divine  presence,  as  we  profess  to  realize  it,  lias  a  pledge  within  liiin- 
sclf  that  there  is  a  power  in  the  religion  of  Jesus  Ciirist  to  Christianize  the 
world.  It  is  the  emphatic  utterance  of  inspiration  that  there  is  a  victory  in 
faith  that  overcomes  the  world;  and  it  seems  to  me,  Mr.  President,  that  the 
Church  of  .Jesus  Christ  ought  never  to  lose  siglit  of  the  fact  that  cimquest, 
moral,  spiritual,  universal,  glorious  conquest,  is  to  be  her  watchword  in  her 
march  as  a  part  of  the  sacramental  host  of  God's  elect.  She  must  and  ought 
continually  to  feel  that  she  stands  in  mysterious,  strange,  and  wondrous  alli- 
ance with  Him  who  is  '-high  over  all,  God  blessed  for  evermore,"  and  that 
by  virtue  of  her  strange  unity  with  the  supreme  Head  of  the  Church,  she 
is  clothed  with  a  might  and  a  power,  compared  with  which  all  material 
and  other  agencies  and  powers  arc  small,  very  small,  indeed.  The 
subject,  therefore,  of  the  type  of  piety  essential  to  the  highest  prosperity  of 
the  Church  is  just  precisely  tliat  which  ought  to  claim  our  special  attention. 
It  seems  to  me,  sir,  we  are  living  under  circumstances  which  commend  this 
subject  to  us  in  an  eminent  sense. 

And  it  is  well  to  consider,  for  a  moment,  that  there  are  difficulties  to  be 
mastered,  which  ought  to  be  kept  also  in  view.  AVe  are  living  in  a  land  of 
wonderful  material  development,  a  country  which  is  by  its  very  abundant 
resources,  by  the  strange  success  that  crowns  effort  in  the  various  fields  of 
material  enterprise,  in  great  danger  of  absorbing  the  public  sentiment  and 
of  estranging  the  public  heart  from  spiritual  interests;  it  is  therefore  to  be 
considered  that  the  Church  is  to  embody  within  herself  a  type  of  piety,  a 
measure  of  spiritual  life,  a  power,  that  will  be  sufficient  to  counteract  this 
material  tendency,  this  ambition  for  mere  outward  and  material  success,  and 
that  the  type  of  her  piety  will  be  such  that  the  measure  of  this  material  suc- 
cess that  comes  within  her  own  limits  shall  be  consecrated,  as  it  rises,  fur 
the  religion  of  Jesus.  Especially  that  type  of  Christianity  which  we  present 
to  men,  calls  them  into  such  modes  of  action,  such  consecration  of  their 
powers,  as  may  result  even  in  great  material  success.  It  is  therefore  of 
great  moment,  going  down  as  we  do,  to  the  humbler  strata  of  society,  feeling 
among  the  roots  of  human  organization,  and  lifting  men  up  from  compara- 
tive unimportance  and  obscurity,  and,  under  the  blessing  of  God,  presenting 
them  crowned  with  wonderful  success,  in  the  material  aspect  of  the  ques- 
tion it  is  highly  important  that  we  should  have  a  type  of  piety  which  should 
give  them  to  feel  that,  as  they  are  elevated  in  this  sense,  they  should  lay  all 
their  offerings  upon  the  altar  of  Jesus  Christ,  that  the  Church  migiit  not  be 
straightened  in  herself,  but  might  have  at  her  command  resources  for  occu- 
pying those  ever  expanding  fields  which  are  so  strangely  inviting  us  onward 
from  year  to  year. 

Again,  it  should  be  considered  that  this  land  is  cosmopolitan  in  an  import- 
ant sense.  We  have  been  a  missionary  Church.  This  was  true  of  our  Churcli 
from  its  inception  until  this  hour,  and  we  have  been  educated  to  feel  a 
strange  interest  in  the  ends  of  the  earth,  and  our  hearts  go  out  in  sympathy 
toward  men  and  women  who  are  planted  upon  the  outposts  of  our  spiritual 
Zion;  but  while  we  have  been  looking  to  these  distant  fields,  God  is  sending 


32  MINUTES  OF  CONVENTION. 

Iheir  representatives  here,  and  we  have  in  this  land  types  of  all  mankind: 
anJ  in  connection  with  this  representative  character  of  our  country,  we 
have  the  phases  of  thought,  the  beliefs  and  the  unbeliefs,  of  all  the  world, 
crowded  within  the  stretch  of  land  God  has  assigned  to  us  as  our  place  of 
toil  and  spiritual  opportunity.  How  important  is  it,  therefore,  my  brethren, 
when  we  consider  that  we  are  confronted  by  all  these  forms  of  error,  by  tlie 
world's  philosophies  and  religions— pagan.  Christian,  infidel— that  we  should 
be  able  to  stand  upon  the  basis  we  have  assumed  beneath  the  standard  of  the 
cross  and  exemplify  to  all  the  world  that  there  is  a  sufficient  power  in  the 
glorious  Gospel  of  the  blessed  God  to  over-master  all  these  agencies  by  which 
we  are  surrounded.  It  seems  to  me  we  are  furnished  with  the  opportunity 
here  of  demonstrating,  if  we  can,  that  power  of  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ 
that  we  have  been  claiming  for  it.  We  have  gloried  in  the  consciousness 
that  there  was  a  power  in  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ  that  could  successfully 
grapple  with  all  other  counter  religions,  and  now  the  opportunity  is  pre- 
sented us  here  of  establishing  this  great  and  essential  truth.  How  import- 
ant, therefore,  is  it  that  we  should  realize  this  highest  type  of  piety,  sink  in 
the  purple  flood,  washed  and  sanctified,  and  filled  with  the  glorious  spirit 
of  that  Gospel  we  claim  to  be  the  evangel  for  all  the  world !  ''  Christ  for  all 
the  world,  and  all  the  world  for  Christ '." 

I  trust,  Mr.  President,  that  we  shall  realize  the  greatness  of  this  important 
question,  and  that  we  shall  dedicate  ourselves  here  to-day  more  fully  to  tliis 
great  work  of  saving  men  than  we  have  heretofore  done.  Oh,  how  my  soul 
expands  with  tlie  precious  conviction  that  we  have  within  our  grasp  the 
world's  "reat  cordial,  and  that  we  can  satisfy,  as  instruments  in  the  hands 
of  God,  the  longings   of  mankind!       May  God  graciously  aid   us  for   His 

name's  sake. 

Rkv.  J.  A.  Gkuk— I  believe  in  the  victory  of  God's  truth.  Allow  me  to 
tell  one  single  incident  of  my  early  history  ;  it  may  convey  an  idea  of  the 
depth  of  the  convictions  fastened  upon  my  heart:  My  father  was  a  farmer. 
In  the  upper  part  of  his  garden  I  liad  an  answer  to  prayer,  away  buck  about 
sixty-six  years  ago.  I  went  into  fatlier's  nursery,  one  warm  summer  day, 
and  was  walking  down  toward  the  house,  and  suddenly  I  felt  wonderfully  in 
my  young  heart.  There  was  a  great  revival  in  the  town  at  the  time.  I  had 
never  felt  so  before.  I  got  down  on  my  knees  in  the  liigli  grass  and  lifted  up 
my  little  hands  toward  iieavcn,  and  really  thought  I  saw  the  Lord  Jesus 
there.  I  never  had  one  doubt  of  His  essential  divinity  and  Godhead  from 
that  day  to  this.  Glory  to  Jesus !  As  I  grew  up  to  years  of  nnderslanding. 
having  found  the  Lord.  I  began  to  catechise  others.  I  would  ask  them,  "Do 
you  know  God  for  Christ's  sake  has  pardoned  your  sins?"  "Yes."  "Can 
you  tell  the  time  wlien  and  il.e  plaee  where  ?'  "  Yes,  1  can."  Well,  1  beg.ui 
to  reason  thus:  If  you  liave  gained  tliat  victory,  I  can  ;  and  I  went  to  work, 
by  llic  blessing  of  God,  and  found  it  so  by  happy  experience.  I  reasoned 
from  myself  to  others,  and  I  reasoned  llius:  My  heart  is  just  as  bad  as  any 
man's  liearl  under  heaven.  1  found  there  all  llic  corrupt  passions  1  had  ever 
read  in  God's  book,— tliat  it  was  "  enmity  against  God,"  "not  subject  to  tlie 
law  ..f  Gol,"  etc.     Well,  I   felt   I  had  obtained  Hie  victory,  and  I  was  going 


ADDRESS  OF  UEV.  J    A.  GERE.  33 

(o  say,  glory  to  God,  I  have  it  now.    I  don't  shed  tears  because  I  feel  unplea- 
santly ;  no,  I  feel  liappy. 

One  word  before  I  utter  the  thought  I  was  about  to  express.  I  was  brought 
up  to  discredit  a  religion  that  affects  your  sympathies.  Now,  always  God 
lias  given  me  to  know  if  I  am  in  pain  ;  I  feel  it ;  and  lie  lias  always  given 
me  to  know  that  I  Iiave  peace  with  Ilim,  and  that  I  am  happy  in  Him;  I 
feel  it.  No  pliilosopher  can  know  it  in  any  other  way.  If  you  don't  feel  it 
in  your  soul  it  is  not  there. 

Now  I  reasoned  in  this  way :  Under  all  the  disadvantages  of  my  nature, 
common  to  all  men,  and  under  all  tlie  disadvantages  of  my  early  surround- 
ings, with  regard  to  tecluiicalities  of  doctrine,  "This  is  a  faitlifu!  saying, 
and  worthy  of  all  acceptation,"  worthy  to  be  received  by  everybody.  Why, 
Paul?  "Christ  Jesus  came  into  tiie  world  to  save  sinners,  of  whom  I  am 
chief"  I  think  he  meant  there,  "to  save  me*"  Well,  I  thus  reasoned 
against  all  the  peculiarities  of  the  five  points  of  the  creed  under  which  I  was 
reared.  Oh,  it  is  the  glory  of  my  faith,  my  heart,  my  ministry,  one  of  the 
great  glories,  that  "  Jesus  Christ,  by  the  grace  of  God,  tasted  death  for  every 
man,"  therefore  for  me.  GoJ  be  praised  !  I  hiva  no  doubt  of  tiie  victory, 
none  at  all. 

I  want  to  say  one  word  about  that  "standard."  I  feel  under  oblio-ations 
to  Dr.  Hodgson  for  that  essay,  liut,  as  to  elevating  the  standard,  wiiy,  it 
cannot  ba  done.  The  standard  is  in  God's  own  book.  It  is  the  commission 
to  the  Church,  as  we  all  believe,  and  as  our  forefathers  professed,  "to  spread 
Scriptural  holiness  over  all  these  lands;"  that  is  our  work;  we  hive  no 
otiier;  and  the  grace  we  have  now  is  nothing  more  than  our  forefathers  pfo- 
fessed  to  enjuy.  I  believe  in  making  Christianity,  as  a  wlule,  a  spef^ialty.  I 
believe  in  justificxtion,  repentance,  and  that  "if  we  walk  in  the  light  as  He 
is  in  the  light,  we  have  fellowship  one  with  another,  and  tlie  blood  of  Jesus 
Christ,  His  Son,  cleanseth  us  from  all  sin."  Whatever  can  keep  man  out 
of  heaven,  God  Almighty  has  engaged  to  save  us  from.  Glory  to  His  name  I 
Christian  holiness  is  notliing  more,  nothing  less,  than  our  forefathers  professed 
and  enjoyed  ;  and,  as  long  as  we  hold  fast  to  this  grand  central  point  of  our 
holy  religion — I  was  going  to  say,  in  the  next  hmidrel  years,  reasoning  from 
tiie  analogy  of  the  past — I  think  the  Methodist  Chiirch  might  take  the  world. 
What  do  you  think,  bretliren?  It  seems  to  me  if  we  take  up  the  cross  and 
follow  Christ,  full  of  faith  an  1  of  tlie  Holy  Gho^t,  we  shall  marcli  forward, 
with  solid  phalanx,  to  sure  and  certain  victory,  to  universal  con(iuest. 

Rev.  J.  Walker  J.vcksos. — Mr.  President:  One  thought  has  struck  me  just 
at  this  moment.  I  don't  believe  in  the  expression,  "elevate  the  standard," 
hut  I  think  perhaps  we  may  misumlerstan  1  the  meaning  of  those  who  use  that 
phrase.  I  should  just  as  soon  talk  about  elevating  Go  1,  as  elevating  the 
standard.  He  has  "  magnified  [lis  Word  above  all  His  name."  But  I  sup- 
pose that  in  speaking  of  "elevating  the  standard,"  those  who  use  that  phrase 
mean  the  e'evating  tlie  people  to  the  statuhird :  and  I  go  in  for  that  sort  of  elo- 
vation — the  liTting  up  of  believers  to  the  standard  itself,  lifting  up  those  that 

profess  the  religion  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  in  tlieir  lives  and  in  their  love 

o 
O 


34  MINUTES  OF   COXVEXTION. 

to  the  blessed  Redeemer.  We  are  all  in  favor  of  that  sort  of  elevating  the 
standard,  and  I  presume  that  that  is  all  any  one  means  by  the  elevation  of 
the  standard.  I  think  there  can  be  no  difference  about  that.  We  don't  mean 
lifting  up  piety,  our  creels,  the  Word  of  God,  but  lifting  »s  up  to  that  highest 
platform  of  perfect  and  entire  consecration  to  God. 

Nothing  his  done  my  heart  so  much  good  since  this  Convention  commenced 
as  this  most  lovely — for  I  can  find  no  other  word — report  upon  this  most  in- 
teresting subject.  Blessed  be  God,  my  heart  is  full  this  morning;  the  tears 
run  down  my  cheeks,  and  my  soul  swells  within  me.  Glory  be  to  the  Father, 
glory  be  to  the  Son,  glory  be  to  the  Holy  Ghost!  1  thought  while  these 
brethren  were  standing  here— old,  venerable  brethren,  with  gray  hairs, 
wrinkled  faces,  upon  the  very  verge  of  the  grave,  and  speaking  about  their 
own  Christian  experience — that  it  would  become  a  younger  man,  one  tha' 
might  live  longer,  right  after  them,  to  say  :  Fathers  and  brethren,  ye  that 
are  passing  away,  we  will  follow  in  your  footsteps.  As  you  love  the  Lord 
.lesus  ('lirist  with  your  whole  hearts,  we  love  Ilim,  too  ;  and  as  you  preach 
llim  as  a  perfect  .Saviour,  so  will  we.  And  if  I  would  tell  my  experience  it  is 
told  for  me.     In  the  language  of  another  :  — 

•'  In  evil  long  I  took  delight, 
Unawed  by  shame  or  fear, 
'Till  a  new  object  struck  my  sight 
Aud  sto;)])ed  my  wild  career. 

"  1  saw  one  hanging  on  tho  tree, 
In  agony  and  blood, 
Who  seemed  to  fix  Ilis  eyes  on  nie, 
As  near  His  cross  I  stood. 

"Sure  never  to  my  latest  day 
Can  I  forget  that  look  ; 
It  seemed  to  charge  me  with  His  death, 
Tho'  not  a  word  He  spoke. 

"  My  conscience  felt  and  owned  tho  deed, 
And  lill'd  nic  with  dcsjiair; 
I  knew  my  sins  His  blood  had  shed, 
llail  l]rl|ii'(l  to  niiil  liiin  llierc. 

"  Another  look  Ho  gave,  which  said, 
'  1  freely  nil  forgive; 
'J'his  lilooil  was  for  thy  ransom  shed, 
1  die  that  thou  ninyft  live."  " 

t>h,  brethren,  wc  didn't  nieel  iiere  for  inerelyiiolllie.il  puriio.xos.  1  trust 
llial  thlH  meeting  i.s  the  culminating  point,  that  we  may  more  thorouglily  con- 
Bccratc  oufHolveH  to  the  great  work  <if  our  blcHsed  lU'deemer,  the  .salvation  of 
I  hi-  world. 

Ili;v.  A.  (ii  iJM'.v,  Pi-csi.lciil  nfili.'  I Ill  Pi'caclicr.'^'   Associ- 

tioii,  jil-l  :i(ij<iiiiii((l,  \\:i-  iiilrixlijcccl,  :iii<l   s:ii(l  ; 


ADDRESS   OF   REV.    A.    GURNEY.  3o 

Mr.  President:  I  came  this  raorniug  to  listen  to  the  discussion,  never  hav- 
ing attended  a  State  Convention  before,  and  Laving  very  little  idea  what  form 
the  discussion  would  lake  ;  but  I  have  been  very  much  pleased  with  it.  Voii 
call  it  a  discussion  in  Pennsylvania  ;  in  Indiana  we  should  call  it  a  gen- 
eral class-mceliDg.  These  brethren  have  been  telling  the  same  "old,  old 
story"  of  the  love  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord.  The  topic  for  discussion 
is  the  type  of  piety  necessary  to  the  highest  prosperity  of  the  Church.  It 
seems  to  me,  sir,  if  I  may  take  up  a  few  moments  in  telling  these  brethren 
what  we  think  in  the  West  on  this  subject,  tiiat  the  type  of  piety  necessary 
to  the  highest  prosperity  of  the  Church  enters  into  every  action' of  the  Chris- 
tian ;  that  it  makes  him  honest  in  deal  ;  that  it  makes  him  pay  his  debts,  a 
hundred  cents  on  the  dollar,  when  the  law  wouldn't  do  it  ;  that  it  makes  liiin 
as  careful  of  the  interests  of  the  men  with  whom  he  deals  as  with  his  own  : 
that  it  enters  into  all  the  actions  of  men  ;  that  it  lays  its  hand  on  every  mart 
(if  trade,  every  sort  of  business,  and  takes  it  all  for  Christ ;  that  it  says  to  the 
world  :  "  We  have  a  right  to  intermeddle  with  all  the  work  of  men  and  bring 
all  men  everywhere  to  Christ;  that  it  takes  the  cross  of  Christ  into  marts  of 
trade  and  courts  of  justice  and  halls  of  legislature,  and  everywhere  erects 
tli.nt  cross  as  the  stay  and  support  of  a  sorrowing  world;  that  is  the  type 
of  piety  necessary  in  the  Church, — a  type  of  piety,  sir,  not  censorious,  not 
fault-finding,  not  grumbling,  willing  to  take  just  the  pastor  God  sends  them, 
willing  to  take  hold  and  help  him;  if  he  is  not  so  good  a  preacher  as  he 
ought  to  be,  all  the  more,  that  his  lack  of  service  mny  be  made  up  to  the 
Church.  AVhat  the  Church  requires,  is  a  type  of  piety  that  will  make  the 
ministry  of  every  pastor  that  is  sent  of  God  into  the  field  the  ministry  of  the 
whole  bodj  of  the  membership  under  his  guidance  and  direction.  The  min- 
istry of  one  man,  no  matter  how  eloquent,  how  devote<l,  how  pious  he  may  be, 
can  effect  but  little  comparatively  towards  thebringing  in  of  the  beginning  of 
the  millennial  glory  on  this  earth  of  ours;  but  we  know  that  one  man's 
eloquence,  piety,  and  devotion,  supplemented  by  the  earnestness  of  the  whole 
church — local  preachers,  class  leaders,  stewar<ls,  membership,  and,  above  all. 
good  sisters  in  Christ  Jesus — when  all  preach,  and  preach  Christ,  under  his 
direction,  then  there  is  that  type  of  piety  in  the  Church  that  will  make  the 
world  say,  "God  is  with  you  of  a  truth." 

IJrethren,  I  tiiank  God  in  Christ  Jesus,  I  believe  a  brighter  day  is  dawning 
upon  the  world  through  the  instrumentality  of  the  Methodist  Church.  I  hail 
s  an  auspicious  omen  these  gatherings  of  the  servants  of  Christ  Jesus  in  all 
our  States  as  they  come  together,  ignoring  Conference  lines,  and  saying,  "  We 
be  brethren."  0  brethren,  let  us  seek  individually  for  full  consecration  to 
God  ;  let  us  seek,  as  churches,  to  be  working  churches.  One  brother  hardly 
dared  to  say,  that  in  a  hundred  years  Methodism  can  fake  the  world,  but  1 
tell  you,  if  every  Methodist  on  our  records  fo-day  was  a  working  Christian 
we  would  fake  this  whole  world  in  fifty  years;  I  have  no  doubt  of  it.  Goil_ 
in  Christ  Jesus,  would  give  us  the  world  ;  but  there  is  too  much  laxity  in  our 
work.  May  God  give  us  this  highest  type  of  piety,  and  speed  the  millennial 
dawn. 


3»}  MINUTES   OF   CONVENTION. 

I  have  only  to  say  in  behalf  of  the  local  preachers,  whom  I  have  the  honor 
to  represent,  that,  under  God,  we  mean  to  do  what  we  can  to  save  the  world 
and  advance  this  type  of  piety ;  and  I  bid  you,  traveling  brethren  and  lay- 
men, to  look  well  to  your  laurels,  for  we  mean,  by  the  grace  of  God,  to  exceed 
you,  if  we  can,  in  self-denial  and  devotion  to  the  cause  of  Christ. 

Rkv.  John  Thrush — Mr.  President:  As  I  take  it,  the  type  of  piety  we 
menu  is  experimental,  practical,  embodied  and  expressed  in  our  "General 
ilules."'  I  think  we  need  something  practical,  just  now,  to  carry  to  our 
homes.  There  is  Tract  No.  581,  containing  our  doctrines  and  rules,  and  all 
that  our  probationers  ought  to  know.  I  make  it  a  practice  to  give  that  tract 
to  each  probationer  I  receive  into  the  Church,  and  exhort  them  to  read  and 
digest  it  well,  and  practice  it.  These  General  Ilules  require,  first,  that  we 
do  no  harm  ;  then  that  we  do  all  the  good  we  can;  and,  then,  that  we  ob- 
serve all  the  ordinances  of  the  Church.  If  we  live  up  to  these  rules  we  will 
t:ikp  the  world,  there  can  be  no  doubt  of  it.  I  desire  to  urge  upon  brethren 
the  importance  of  circulating  this  tract  among  our  probationers.  I  am  led 
t.)  make  this  remark  because  I  have  found  probationers  who,  when  asked 
whether  they  had  read  our  General  Rules,  did  not  seem  to  know  anything 
about  thetn.  It  is  important  that  our  young  people  be  properly  indoctrinated, 
that  they  know  our  rules  and  usages.  Our  Sunday-school  literature  to-day 
docs  not  do  this,  and  unless  we  do  it,  it  will  remain  undone. 

Rev.  W.  L.  Gray — I  desire  to  make  a  few  remarks  by  way  of  response  to 
:iome  passages  in  the  essay.  I  would  greatly  prefer  that  some  brother  from  my 
locality  had  responded  to  this  essay.  I  believe,  sir,  in  the  specialty  of 
Methodism.  I  cannot  understand  its  providential  history  aside  from  the 
itlea  of  a  specially.  The  doctrines  of  the  Gospel,  as  presented  by  Metiiodisra, 
are  a  specialty.  They  are  indeed  clear  and  distinct  expositions  of  the  truths 
of  the  gospel  in  a  pointed  and  direct  form.  There  is  not  one  of  the  doctrines 
of  the  gospel  but  is  specially  and  particularly  treated  by  those  we  profess 
to  follow  ;  and  our  success  in  the  future  will  depend  upon  our  following  the 
example  of  our  fathers  in  this  particular.  Not  that  we  are  to  allow  ourselves 
at  any  time,  in  the  exercise  of  our  ministry,  to  put  undue  stress  upon  any 
one  doctrine  of  the  Gospel,  but  we  are  to  be  careful  that  each  ami  every  one 
of  those  doctrines  has  such  a  special  direction  that,  at  no  liiiie,  any  of  our 
people  among  whom  we  have  exerciseil  our  ininislry  will  be  left  in  uncer- 
tainty as  Icj  the  viows  we  hold. 

Now  we  think  that  we  siioiild  comnu'iul  ourselves  to  every  man's  consci- 
ence in  the  sight  of  (Jod,  by  preaching  llie  whole  Gospel,  not  lo  ininiCy  any 
portion  of  our  doctrinal  system,  not  so  to  throw  it  in  as  that  it  will 
lose  lis  disliiictness  ;  but  let  each  and  every  doctrine  of  Mellio<lism  stand  out 
boldly  before  the  jieople  ;  for  we  may  bo  assured,  that,  after  all  our  study 
and  devotion,  we  will  not  be  able  to  prcseni  the  truths  of  the  Gospel  more 
transparently,  more  powerfully,  than  it  w.is  the  good  foituiie  of  our  falhers 
to  present  them. 

Wo  arc  not,  brethren,  to  expect  that,  in  the  earnest  exercise  of  our  minis- 
try, we  will  ever  be  free  from  ihc  clnirge  of  extravagance;    we  have  nu)re  to 


ADDRESS    OF    14 EV.    DR.    PECK.  37 

fear  from  (be  influence  of  respectability.  Tiie  Church  is  more  endangered, 
alas,  by  her  coldness  than  she  is  by  her  heat. 

I  wisli  to  say  here,  on  behalf  of  those  among  whom  I  go  preaching  the 
Gospel,  that  the  time  m^ver  was,  in  our  history,  when  there  was  so  strong  a 
heart  to  take  hold,  and  hold  fast  to  the  distinctive  doctrines  of  Methodism,  as 
at  the  present  day.  And  I  wish  here  to  say,  in  conclusion,  that  the  time 
never  was,  when  the  distinctive  doctrine  of  Methodism,  that  of  entire  sancti- 
tication,  was  so  loved,  and  so  fully  responded  to,  by  our  people,  as  at  the 
present  day. 

We  accept  the  doctrine  of  the  essaj',  that  the  standard  is  high  enough,  and, 
by  the  grace  of  God,  we  will  try  to  get  up  to  it  ourselves  and  lead  the  people 
up  to  it. 

At  the  close  of  Bro.  Gray's  remarks  the  congregation  rose 
and  joined  in  singing,  ''Forever  here  my  rest  shall  be." 

Hon.  John  McCai.mont  in  the  cluiir. 

Rev.  Geo.  Peck,  D.D — The  following  note  has  been  handed  to  me: 

"  Is  it  necessary  for  one  to  know  llie  time  when,  and  the  place  where,  one 
was  converted,  in  order  to  true  conversion  ?"  I  would  have  a  short  answer 
to  this  question,  and  that  is  in  the  negative  ;  I  don't  believe  it  is.  And  yet 
I  remember  the  time  when,  and  the  place  where,  I  was  converted,  and  it  is 
a  matter  of  great  interest  to  me  to  look  b  ick  to  that  time  and  place,  and  I 
think  it  saves  me  from  a  great  many  misgivings  and  doubts  ;  but  I  have  had 
frequent  intercourse  with  persons,  of  the  genuineness  of  whose  religious  ex- 
perience I  had  no  doubt  at  all,  who  didn't  know  when  nor  where  they  were 
converted,  but  who  came  (o  the  conclusion  that  they  were  converted  some- 
where and  at  some  time. 

I  desire  the  indulgence  of  the  Convention  for  a  few  moments  upon  the 
matter  of  the  essay.  I  was  upon  the  Committee,  upon  this  question,  and  1 
very  freely  and  verj'  cordially  resigned  to  my  friend.  Dr.  Hodgson-,  the 
work  of  writing  the  report  presented,  and  since  I  have  heard  it  I  am  more 
satisfied  with  that  decision  than  I  was  before.  I  consider  it  a  very  able  and 
almost  exhaustive  discussion  of  the  subject;  very  orthodox;  every  word  of  it 
There  arc  points  in  it  which  might  admit  of  very  much  expansion, 
)uld  not  have  been  consistent  with  the  general  object  of  the  writer 
in  a  mere  essay.  What  impressed  me  very  much  was,  one  single  position 
which  the  essayist  took  in  a  sentence,  that  to  this  religion  the  spirit  of  pro- 
pagandism  is  necessary.  That  is  the  type  of  religion  required  by  the  times. 
Aggressiveness,  propagandism,  is  essential  to  the  present  success  of  the  Church 
and  the  progress  of  religion.  Enlargement  is  evidence  of  life  in  all  depart- 
ments,— in  the  Church,  in  the  nation,  in  all  great  systems  of  moral  reform 
and  improvement. 

Religion  is  a  war  upon  the  civilization  of  the  world;  religion  is  an  on- 
slaught upon  humanity  in  its  corrupt  and  degenerate  state.  As  it  is  said  by 
an  old  French  writer,  "Religion  is  the  grandest  controversy  in  the  world." 
It  is  a  controversy,  a  grand  controversy.     It  is  represented  by  our   Saviour 


tri^.      Thei 
buf  that  wot 


38  MINUTES   OF   CONVENTION. 

by  the  leaven  hid  in  tiie  meal ;  the  leaven  works  and  tui-ns  the  meal  into  lea- 
ven; the  meal  turned  into  leaven  works,  and  goes  on  working  in  this  work  of 
transformation,  until  the  whole  mass  is  leavened.  So  religion  in  the  world, 
in  the  Thurch,  is  working  and  progressing,  making  demonstrations  against 
tiie  civilization  of  the  world,  and  going  out  among  the  nations,  looking  to  the 
final  consummation  of  the  gi'eat  end  of  the  Saviour's  coming, — the  universal 
spread  of  the  Gospel  and  of  the  knowledge  of  Jesus  Christ.  Now,  if  we  want 
one  thing  in  the  Church  more  than  another,  it  is  the  spirit  of  aggression. 
We  have  too  many  dormant,  silent,  quiet,  inactive,  members  of  the  Church  ; 
we  want  all  vivified,  resurrected,  baptized,  filled  with  fire  and  with  the  Holy 
Ghost;  going  out  as  instruments  of  God ;  making  aggressions  upon  the  world  ; 
seeking  the  salvation  of  sinners,  and  waging  nar  against  corruption, 
against  vice,  against  evil  institutions  which  are  established  in  our  midst 
and  working  death  and  ruin. 

I  hope  that  this  CTonvention  will  be  a  mighty  demonstration  of  spiritual 
life  and'  aggressive  power,  and  I  believe  tliat  its  utility,  and  the  conviction 
which  it  impresses  upon  the  mind  of  the  public,  will  depend  upon  tliis  fact  ; 
and  I  wish  and  hope  this  morning  to. receive  more  of  that  holy  baptism  which 
will  give  us,  in  our  hearts  individually,  that  true  type  of  piety,  and  which 
will  develop  itself  in  our  lives. 

Prof.  W^  G.  Fischer  led  the  Convention  in  singing — "  Wait- 
ing for  the  Master." 

Rev.  J.  Walker  Jackson  offered  the  following  resolution, 
which  was  mianimoasly  adopted  by  a  rising  vote,  viz : — 

Keaolvcil,  That  we  have  lieard  with  very  great  pleasure  and  satisfaction 
the  able  report  on  the  topic,  "The  type  of  piety  necessary  to  the  higiiest 
prosperity  of  the  Cliurch,"  and  that  we  here  and  now  adopt  it  as  the  declara- 
tion of  our  sentiments  upon  that  important  subject. 

Tli;v.  R.  ir.  Pattiw(vn  stated  tliat  tlic  proceedings  of  the 
(Convention  ought  to  be  pu1)li.shed  in  book  Ibrni,  and  moved 
that  a  committee  be  appointed^  consisting  of  one  from  each  Con- 
ference represented,  to  secure  subscribers  for  the  j)iiblishc(l  jour- 
nal of  the  Convention. 

The  motion  being  of  the  nature  of  a  |)rivih'ged  character,  was 
put  and  carried,  ;iii(l  a  Committee  tippointed  as  folk)ws: 

llev.  .1.  If.  Conklc,  I'itl.sburg  ("otifcrtMice. 

"  A.  S.  I)()1)»)M.  Erie 

"  .f.  W.  Ockernian,  Central  i'cnn.    " 

'•  I).  C.  Olnisleail,  Wyoming            " 

"  H.  W.  Thomas,  I'liiladclphia     " 

"  WeHlcy  (^jchran,  Kast  (<eru>sne<>  " 

•'  A.  Flamiuan,  "     (»(iinan    " 


ESSAY  OF  r.Kv.  DR.  Mir-T,i:i;.  39 

JJisliop  Simpson  being  in  the  chair,  announced  that  tlie  topic 
for  consideration  in  the  afternoon  was,  "  The;  Charitable  Insti- 
tutions of  the  Church,"  and  remarked,  "  \V\\'\\v.  I  trust  our  piety 
will  be  of  the  highest  character,  I  hope  it  will  receive  a  practi- 
cal ai)plication  in  our  charitable  institutions." 

The  doxology  was  then  sung,  and  the  Convention  adjcnirned 
to  half-past  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  Ilev.  J.  B.  ^NlcCullough 
])ronouncing  the  benediction. 


FOURTH  SESSION. 


Horticultural  Hall,  Philadelphia. 
Wednesday  Afternoon,  Oct.  Idtli,  1870. 

The  Convention  met  according  to  adjournment  at  2h  o'clock. 

Bishop  M.  Simpson,  I).  D.,  in  the  chair. 

Religious  services  conducted  by  Rev.  B.  H.  Crever  of  the 
Central  Pennsylvania  Conference. 

The  minutes  of  the  morning  session  were  read  and  approved. 

The  topic  of  the  session  was  announced  by  the  Chair  to  be 
*•'  The  Charitable  Institutions  of  the  Church."     Committee — 
Col.  J.  A.  Wright,  E.  H.  Worne,  and  Rev.  H.  Miller,  D.  D. 

Rev.  H.  Miller,  D.  D.,  of  Pittsburg,  presented  the  report  upon 
this  topic. 

ESSAY    OF    REY.  II.  MILLER,  D.  D. 

To  me  has  been  assigned  the  duty  of  opening  the  discussion  on  •■  The  Cliari- 
table  Institutions  of  the  Church."  "And  though  I  speak  with  ihe  tongues  of 
men  and  of  angels,  and  have  not  charity,  I  am  become  as  sounding  brass,  or 
a  tinkling  cymbal.  And  though  I  liave  the  gift  of  prophecy,  and  understand 
all  mysteries  and  all  knowledge  ;  and  though  I  have  all  faith,  so  that  I  could 
remove  mountains,  and  have  not  charity,  I  am  nothing.  And  though  I  be- 
stow all  my  goods  to  feed  the  poor,  and  though  {  give  my  body  to  be  burned, 
and  have  not  charity,  it  profiteth  me  nothing."  The  (jiiality  of  Uiis  celestial 
virtue,  with  which  we  are  now  concerned,  is  its  disinterestedness.  "  Charity 
seeketh  not  her  own."  God  has  established  a  principle  of  universal  depend- 
ence toward  every  part  of  Ilis  intelligent  creation.  The  dependence  of  a 
creature  on  his  fellows  is  not  necessary,  but  the  result  of  a  wise  and  gracious 
appointment.      We   can  conceive  of  a  universe  of  creatures,   all  holy  and 


40  MINUTES    OF    CONVENTION. 

happy,  each  of  whom  might  be  distinct  from  the  other.  Among  (hem,  how- 
ever, there  could  be  no  mutual  love,  for  there  could  be  no  intercourse  be- 
tween them.  Their  heaven  must  be  reduced  to  that  of  mere  contemplation  : 
for  if  a  sphere  of  perfection  be  assigned  them,  they  must  also  be  subjects  of 
action.  If  employed  as  ministers  they  must  also  be  ministered  unto.  In  that 
case,  cut  off  from  each  other,  and  occupied  only  with  their  own  interests,  all 
the  admiration  they  now  feel  in  the  displays  of  God's  wisdom,  power  in  the 
creation  and  government  of  all  things,  all  the  concern  they  take  in  the  atfairs 
of  each  other  and  of  men,  could  have  no  place  in  their  hearts.  New  worlds 
might  arise  from  the  dark  abyss  of  night,  but  no  morning  stars  would  sing 
together,  and  no  sons  of  God  would  shout  for  joy.  New  creatures  might  peo- 
ple the  earth  beneath  and  offer  large  opportunities  for  activity,  but  the  iso- 
lated beings  in  question  could  not  enter  into  their  experience.  They  would 
not  have  ministered  to  our  Saviour,  nor  carried  Lazarus  to  Abraham's 
bosom  ;  John  never  would  have  seen  one  of  these  angels  flying  in  the  midst 
of  heaven,  having  the  everlasting  Gospel  to  preach  upon  the  earth.  This, 
liowever,  is  not  the  order  of  God.  He  has  intended  that  heaven  and  earth 
should  be  connected  ;  that  the  golden  chain  of  love  should  bind  and  har- 
monize, in  mutual  relation  and  dependence.  His  universal  family;  whether 
in  heaven,  about  His  throne,  on  earth.  His  foot  stool,  or  in  those  distant 
tracts  of  space,  where  His  power  has  given  being  to  creatures  in  His  likeness 
and  image.  By  the  principle  of  universal  benevolence  and  mutual  depend- 
ence, created  minds  glow  with  fond  emotion  and  find  their  happiness  in 
action.  They  give  and  receive  and  improve  by  participating  in  the  common 
stock  of  felicity.  In  this  the  angels  set  ns  a  bright  example  for  our  imita- 
tion. Ev(n  the  Son  of  man  cime  not  to  be  minii^tLred  unto,  but  to  minister. 
And,  addressing  His  disciples  on  a  memorable  occasion.  He  said  :  "  1  have 
given  you  an  example,  that  ye  should  do  as  1  have  done  to  you." 

Among  men,  however,  the  principle  of  benevolence,  which  expresses  itself 
in  readiness  to  minister  to  the  necessities  of  others,  is  not  only  an  arrange- 
ment of  wisdom  and  goodness,  htif  it  lias  in  it  the  force  of  duty  and  obligation. 
The  fatiifrhood  of  God,  the  brotherhood  of  man,  the  nu'iiiation  of  .lesus — 
the  three  grand  fundamental  doctrines  of  revealed  religion — lie  at  tlie  basis, 
nay,  indeed,  constitute  the  basis  of  all  philanthropic,  evangelizing  efforts; 
while  the  spirit  and  sustaining  power  of  benevolent  actions  are  derived  from 
the  cross.  The  love  of  (Jhrisl  coiistraitietli  us  to  live  not  unto  ourselves,  hut 
unto  Him  who  died  for  us  and  rose  again,  and  to  serve  our  fcUdw  beings  as 
the  representatives,  on  earth,  of  I  lie  man  Christ  Jesus.  Christianity  is  based 
upon  the  principle  of  Hivino  sympathy,  benevolence,  and  sacrifice.  When 
liie  Apostle  i'aul  wotild  enforce  religious  charily  and  sliiimlate  to  generous 
giving  in  raising  a  collection  fur  the  poor,  lie  calls  uj)  the  exaiiijilc  of  Christ  : 
"For  ye  know  the  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Ciirist,  that,  though  He  was  ridi. 
yet  for  your  sakcH  He  became  [lODr,  that  ye  through  His  poverty  might  be 
rich." 

An  address  on  the  charitable  institutions  of  the  Clmrcli  is,  in  fact,  an  ad- 
dress on  a  type  of  devoted  piety  involving  the  consecration  of  property  an<l 


ESSAY    OF    REV.    DR.    MILLER.  41 

muiiificenf  giving.  Tlie  Church  is  not  only  the  depository  of  the  truth,  h\n 
it  is  the  embodiment  of  the  Divine  benevolence  :  and  tiie  universal  and  in- 
ducing philanthropy,  so  att'ectingly  exhibited  in  our  redemption  by  Christ, 
who,  by  the  grace  of  God,  tasted  death  for  every  man,  is  to  be  fostered  and 
nurtured  by  every  consideration  we  can  pay  to  the  nature  of  our  religion. 
"We  make  known  unto  j'ou,"  says  ihe  apostle  to  the  Corintiiians,  "  the  grace 
of  God  bestowed  on  the  churches  of  Macedonia  ;  how  that  in  a  great  trial  of 
■affliction,  the  abundance  of  their  joy  and  their  deep  poverty  abounded  unto 
Ihe  riches  of  their  liberality  ;  for  to  their  power  I  bear  record,  j'ea,  and  be- 
yond their  power,  they  were  willing  of  themselves  ;  praying  us  with  iimch  en- 
treaty." Did  ever  beneficence  exceed  that?  "Praying  us  with  much  en- 
treaty, that  we  would  receive  the  gift." 

Now,  such  is  the  type  of  piety  necessary  to  the  highest  prosperity  of  the 
Church — the  grace  of  God  bestowed  on  the  churches  of  Methodism,  leading 
her  million  members  to  give  their  own  selves  to  the  Lord,  after  tlie  example 
of  these  Macedonian  Christians,  and  to  give  their  substance  and  property  to 
the  cause  of  perishing  humanity  by  the  love  of  God. 

Our  missionary  cause  is  the  contribution  of  tiie  Christianity  of  to-day  to 
the  heathenism  of  to-day,  and  one  of  the  most  illustrious  manifestations  of 
the  genius  of  Christ's  religion — universal  love;  disinterested,  inducing  love. 
What  God  proposed  by  the  mission  of  His  Son  was  the  recovery  of  this  re- 
volting portion  of  His  vast  empire  unto  Himself.  AVhat  the  missionary  enter- 
prise contemplates,  is  the  carrying  out  of  God's  design,  in  etfecting  a  moral 
revolution  in  the  whole  human  race.  "  The  field  is  the  world."  The  Gospel 
is  to  be  preached  to  every  creature.  All  nations  are  to  be  discipled.  The 
principle  of  selfishness  develops  itself  in  the  increasing  disposition  among 
our  people  to  give  less  abroad,  for  our  foreign  work,  under  a  pretext  of  home 
necessity.  Now  we  take  this  to  be  simply  a  modified  form  of  selfishness.  Our 
means  are  exhausted  in  building  grand,  expensive  churches.  And  this  is 
not  a  fling.  I  don't  want  you  to  understand  it  as  a  fling.  It  is  the  deep,  set- 
tled conviction  of  our  heart.  Our  means  are  exhausted  in  erecting  grand, 
expensive  churches,  while  perishing  millions  are  crying  in  vain,  "  Come  over 
and  help  us."  If  we  are  really  unable  to  give  more  than  we  do  now,  we 
ouglit  to  give  more  abroad  and  less  at  home.  But,  by  the  oft-repeated  and 
perverted  saying,  "Charity  begins  at  home,"  we  weaken  the  force  of  the  calls 
for  foreign  aid. 

"  Charity  begins  at  home,"  but  it  does  not  stay  there.  If  it  did  it  wouhl 
soon  die.  An  infallible  recipe  for  killing  charity  is  to  keep  it  at  home.  It  is 
like  confining  children  in  a  tight  room  from  which  the  light  and  air  are  ex- 
cluded. They  sicken  and  die,  without  relief.  Our  sickly  piety,  where  it  ex- 
ists, may  be  speedily  cured  by  an  expansion  of  our  sympathy  and  benevo- 
lence. "There  is  that  scattcreth  and  yet  increaseth,  and  there  is  that  with- 
holdeth  more  than  is  meet  and  it  tendeth  to  poverty."  '•  The  liberal  soul  de- 
viseth  liberal  things,  and  by  liberal  things  shall  he  stand."  The  decline  of 
Christian  devotedness  is  the  decline  of  Christian  prosperity.  From  the  very 
constitution  of  the  Christian  Church  its  relative   efficiency  depends  upon  its 


42  MINUTES   OF   CONVENTION. 

entire  consecration,  and  the  slightest  diversion  of  its  influence  is  so  much 
taken  from  the  very  power  that  called  it  into  existence,  and  accordingly  it 
might  easily  be  shown  that  it  has  flourished  or  declined  la  every  age  in  pro- 
portion as  it  has  fulfilled  the  missionary  design  of  its  origin.  The  moment 
the  Church  lost  sight  of  her  expansive  character  she  began  to  lose  ground  in 
the  ".vorld.  The  strength  which  ought  to  have  been  expended  with  foes  with- 
out was  spent  with  fierce  contentions  within.  M'hen  she  ought  to  have  been 
the  almoner  of  God  she  became  the  great  extortioner;  when  she  ought  to. 
have  been  tlie  birth-place  of  souls,  and  at  the  very  time  when  she  should 
have  been  giving  more  public  opinion  and  attained  the  mastery  of  the  world, 
she  was  the  willing  and  accomplished  agent  of  the  vilest  purposes.  Now, 
as  every  department  of  the  Church  from  its  missionary  designs,  is  sure 
to  be  avengeil,  so  we  may  expect  every  return  to  that  character  will  be  Di- 
vinely acknowledged  and  blessed,  and  a  full  return  in  faith,  prayer,  consecra- 
tion, and  beneficen3e,  to  its  first  aggressive  spirit  and  movement,  to  speak  a 
full  return  to  its  first  prosperity.  AVhen  the  disciples  went  everywhere 
preaching  tlie  Word  the  hand  of  the  Lord  was  with  them,  and  the  Word  of 
God  mightily  prevaiU'il,  and  the  Lord  added  to  the  Cliurch  daily  such  as  should 
be  saved.  May  God  baptize  the  Methodist  Church  with  an  increase  of  the 
niissionarj'  spirit ! 

The  Sunday-school  was  indeed,  as  we  all  know,  a  charitable  institution  in 
the  strongest  sense  of  that  word,  in  its  inception  and  original  organization, 
seeking  the  cliildren  of  the  poor  and  the  unfortunate  victims  of  parental  ne- 
glect, instructing  them  in  the  truths  of  the  Bible  and  leading  tliem  to  Jesus. 
And  what  a  striking  illustration  of  the  benign  and  disinterested  spirit  of  our 
religion  do  the  Sunday-schools  of  the  Christian  Church  present  to  the  world 
to-day  in  their  hundreds  of  thousand  of  teachers,  men  and  women,  old  and 
young,  who  bestow  their  gratuitous  labors  on  God's  holy  day  for  tlie  religi- 
ous education  of  the  young!  Its  relation  to  the  Church  is  most  vital,  both  in 
the  actual  accessioti  to  her  ranks  and  in  llie  sound  relijirious  educaiinn  of  her 
membership.  And,  not  anticipating  the  relation  of  the  citizen  to  tlie  Slate  — 
wliicli  is  a  topic  for  discussion — we  may  be  allowed  to  observe,  at  tliis  point, 
tliat  the  value  of  tiiis  charity  to  the  State  is  too  generally  overlooked.  Its 
influence  flows  tliroughout  tlic  body  politic,  and  communicates  that  aliment 
If)  the  youtii  of  our  country  so  essential  to  the  safety  and  permanency  an<l 
perpetuity  of  our  institutions.  Democracy  is  a  government  of  tlie  people  by 
the  people,  for  ihejieople;  ami  it  is  baseil  on  the  principle  of  granting  to 
the  indivitluai  the  l.irgcst  possible  freedom  consistent  witli  tlie  existence  of 
.'"ociety  ;  and  its  salViy  depends,  not  on  outside  foi-ces,  but  tlio  capiibilily  of 
its  in<lividual  members  to  govern  tliomselves.  Tliis  ])ower,  like  the  attrac- 
tion of  gravitation,  in  its  quiet  troail,  liolds  everything  logetiier. 

.Ml  iiistory  proves  that  there  is  no  self-sustaining  jirinciple  in  any  form  of 
social  <irgaiii/:ition.  It  is  truth,  moral  truth,  the  Irutli  as  il  is  in  Jesus,  that 
develops  our  iiieas  orjuslice,  quickens  the  moral  sense  into  activity,  and  leads 
men  to  Hubmil,  of  llieir  own  clioice,  (o  those  rules  of  conduct  on  which  public 
law  reposes.     Free  institutions  promise  slahilily  only  wlien  rooted  in  tlie  en- 


ESSAY    OF    REV.    DR.    MIIJ.ER.  43 

lightened  moral  and  religious  conviction  of  the  people.  >lo  virtue  of  the  in- 
dividual is  of  any  avail  in  society.  To  tiiis  the  refined  nations  of  antiquity 
bear  mournful  but  instructive  testimony.  And  why,  on  a  subject  so  solemnly 
important  to  our  youth  and  to  the  country,  do  we  not  regard  the  facts  of  his- 
tory? She  has  written  them  reiined,  learned,  and  mighty,  but  she  has  re- 
corded their  vices;  and  if  learning  could  Lave  preserved,  why  has  their 
siicience  survived  their  existence — why  do  they  live  in  every  clime?  They 
were  without  perpetuity  because  without  the  elements  of  it.  The  fabric  of 
their  grandeur  has  crumbled  down  because  not  combined  with  the  imperish- 
able principles  of  virtue,  and  their  want  of  virtue  resulted  from  their  want 
of  religion.  May  God  baptize  the  Sunday-school  institution  of  our  Church 
with  the  spirit  of  love! 

Our  Church  Extension  Society,  we  rejoice  to  know,  is  growing  more  and 
more  every  year  in  favor  with  the  people.  It  is  a  great  enterprise,  essen- 
tially missionary  in  its  character  and  aims,  and  deserves^the  warmest  sym- 
pathy and  support  of  all  our  people.  It  is  immeasurably  important  to  our 
work  in  the  South  and  on  the  frontier.  The  very  term  itself  imbodies  a 
grand  idea.  "Church  Extension'" — it  indicates  the  aggressiveness  of  the 
Church — the  propngandism  of  the  Church.  The  conversion  of  the  world  was 
a  divine  conception.  Jesus  Christ  brought  it  to  earth,  incorporated  it  with 
the  life  and  institutions  of  His  Church,  and  repeated  it  in  the  ears  of  His 
disciples  as  He  ascended  to  the  excellent  glory  amid  adoring  myriads  of  at- 
tending angels  and  spirits  of  the  just  made  perfect.  The  apostles  took  it  up. 
Nay,  it  was  burned  into  their  very  souls  by  tlie  Holy  Ghost.  It  was  the 
thought  that  filled  Wesley's  mind,  the  fire  that  burned  in  Wesley's  soul,  and 
led  him,  for  more  than  half  a  century,  to  unwearied  toil  and  self-sacrificing 
labor  in  the  service  of  Christ.  May  this  great  thought  never  be  lost  sight 
of  by  the  Church!  this  fire  never  be  extinguished  from  the  heart  of  the 
Methodist  Church! 

The  Church  should  include  in  her  charities  a  generous  provision  for  the 
poor.  There  is  no  mistaking  the  spirit  of  our  religion  in  this  regard.  In 
every  age,  under  every  dispensation,  it  has  been  the  same,  because  it  is  of 
God,  partakes  of  His  benevolence,  and  is  as  immutable  as  His  will. 

Job,  cotemporary,  perhaps,  with  Abraham,  could  make  his  appeal :  "  When 
the  eye  saw  me,  it  gave  witness  to  me;  because  I  delivered  the  poor  that 
cried,  and  the  fatherless,  and  him  that  had  none  to  help  him.  Tlie  blessing 
of  him  that  was  ready  to  perish  came  upon  me;  and  I  caused  the  widow's 
heart  to  sing  for  joy.  I  was  eyes  to  the  blind,  and  feet  was  I  to  the  lame.  I 
was  a  father  to  the  poor;  and  the  cause  which  I  knew  not,  I  searched  out.'' 
What  a  beautiful  and  impressive  picture  of  the  spirit  of  our  religion,  even  in 
that  early  age.  The  poor  are  mentioned  no  less  than  one  hundred  and 
twenty  times  in  the  Old  Testament  as  enlisting  the  sympathy  of  Jehovah,  or 
as  commended  to  the  rich  for  help.  "  Thou  shalt  not  forget  thy  poor  bro- 
ther as  long  as  thou  livest,"  was  the  the  benevolent  injunction  of  the  Jewish 
law-giver.  "  Whoso  hath  this  world's  good,  and  seeth  his  brother  have  need, 
and  shutteth  up  his  bowels  of  compassion   from  him,  how  dwelleth  the  love 


44  MINUTES   OF   CONVENTION. 

of  God  in  him?"  "Be  ready  to  distribute,  willing  to  communicate,"  ex- 
press the  spirit  of  Christianity  on  this  subject.  There  is  more  Gospel  in  a 
loaf  of  bread  sometimes  than  in  many  a  sermon,  and  wc  are  beginning  to 
find  that,  in  order  to  reach  the  poor  by  saving  mercy  and  bring  them  into 
the  Church,  wc  must  go  to  thcni  with  "the  meat  that  perisheth,"'  as  well  as 
that  which  "  endures  unto  everlasting  life."  There  are  two  passages  of 
Scripture — one  in  the  Old  and  one  in  the  New  Testament — which  have  a  pe- 
culiar significance  and  force  to  our  minds:  "  The  poor  shall  never  cease  out 
of  the  laud."  "  The  poor  ye  have  always  with  you,"  said  Jesus,  probably 
alluding  to  the  above,  "  and  when  ye  will  ye  may  do  them  good."  "  I  leave 
them  as  my  representatives,  and  your  charity  shall  have  on  earth  plenty  of 
objects  for  its  exercise."  God  leaves  the  poor  in  mercy  among  men  to  ex- 
ercise the  feelings  of  compassion,  tenderness,  and  mercy.  Without  occasions 
afforded  for  their  exercise,  man  would  soon  become  a  stoic  or  a  brute. 
The  very  culture  of  the  earth  and  the  manufacture  of  its  produce  in  the 
variety  of  human  labor  must  produce  riches,  not  of  sufficient  quantify  tliat. 
if  equally  shared,  all  would  be  saved  from  painful  toil,  for  that  would  be  to 
contravene  God's  own  decree:  "In  the  sweat  of  thy  face  shaft  thou  eat 
bread,"  but  to  exempt  a  part  of  society  from  tlie  drudgery  and  affiiction  of 
the  rest.  When  such  customs,  however,  are  made  by  divine  Providence, 
they  impose  duties  and  exemplify  the  system  of  mutual  dependence.  God 
has,  by  tiicse  distinctions,  evidently  thrown  the  care  of  the  poor  upon  the 
rich.  Tlicy  that  tliink  must  govern  them  that  toil,  l)ut  they  are  so  to  go- 
vern as  most  effectually  to  promote  the  comfort  of  the  laboring  classes. 
Every  man  who  becomes  rich  is  made  so  by  tlic  labor.s  of  the  poor,  and  when 
these  laborers  are  interrupted  by  sickness,  accident,  or  age,  it  then  becomes 
our  duly  to  relieve  our  poor  and  suffering  brethren.  And  the  opportunities 
are  abundant.  It  is  not  required  of  us  that  we  lavish  our  benefactions  in- 
discriminately on  tiie  idle  and  improvident,  but  that  our  hand  be  ever  open 
to  the  relief  of  the  wortliy.  Many  are  zealous  for  religious  opinion  and  forms 
of  worship  and  unimportant  and  non-essential  things,  while  they  close  the 
heart  and  hand  of  charity  against  tiic  calls  of  the  destitute  and  the  cries  of 
the  suffering.  These  throw  themselves  open  to  the  rebuke  of  Jesus :  "  Ve 
pay  tithe  of  mint  and  anise  and  cummin,  and  have  omitted  the  weightier 
matters  of  the  law,  judgment,  mercy,  ami  failli."  There  is  no  occasion  for 
serious  complaint  against  the  (Church.  Iiowever,  as  a  wiiole,  in  this  regard; 
and  tiicrc  are  many  eminent  personal  examples  of  munificent  giving.  W  »• 
have  preaciied  about  the  dangers  of  riciies;  and  it  has  perils,  no  doubt,  es- 
pecially where  not  religiously  used;  but  fiiere  is  more  crime  connected  willi 
poverty  than  with  wealth.  There  are  more  and  stronger  temptatidus  t<i 
crime  among  the  poor  tiian  among  the  rich,  and  the  ciiarity  of  the  ('linrcli 
must  imbody  itself  in  institutions,  must  lake  iipon  it  organized  form.  Much 
has  been  <lonc,  much  is  doing,  but  nuich  more  remains  to  be  done  in  this  re- 
gard. The  support  of  her  Huperaiinuated  |)reachers  and  the  widows  and 
orphans  of  those  wlio  die  in  the  work,  has  lor  many  years  been  a  feature  of 
our  Metliodislic  cconotny.  ilnincs  Un-  the  ngcil,  Iriendlcas,  and  fallen,  arc 
being  provided  and  liberally  HiiJlioricd.      Tlic  old    Folks'  llome.  in  this  city. 


ESSAY   OF    REV.    DR.    MILI.KU.  45 

w<>  understiiiul,  luis  the  heart  of  the  people  and  is  a  success.  Let  sucb  cliari- 
lies  be  multiplied  as  the  wants  may  demand,  and  let  them  he  liberally  sup- 
])i)rted  by  the  whole  Church. 

But  while  we  are  doing  something  for  the  nged,  wh:it  are  we  doing  for  llie 
young?  Much  has  been  said  of  an  orphan  asylum  on  a  grand  scale.  The 
tendencies  of  thu  times  are  to  project  all  enterprises  on  a  grand  scale. 
Whether  tliis  is  best  in  the  matter  of  Church  cliarities,  however,  may  be 
doubted. 

Perhaps  we  ought  to  have  two  orphan  schools,  one  east  ami  one  west  of 
I  ho  mountains.  This  would  be  a  credit  to  tlio  Mctliodism  of  the  Stale, 
and  the  sooner  the  thing  takes  shape  the  better  it  will  be.  "I  will  not 
leave  you  orphans,"  said  Jesus,  in  affecting  tenderness,  to  hi.s  disciples 
as  they  sorrowed  at  the  prospect  of  his  departure;  and  wlien  he  hung  in 
ilreadful  agony  on  the  cross,  he  said  to  the  disciple  whom  lie  loved,  "  Behold 
thy  mother,  and  from  that  hour  tliat  disciple  look  her  to  his  own  home." 
Tlius  it  is  .Tesus  commends  to  us  the  orjihans  and  widows,  the  poor  and  the 
Mged,  and  bids  us  take  them  to  our  hearts  and  cui-  hemes.  May  the  means  of 
ilie  Church  be  contributed  largely  for  a  cause  so  benevolent  and  so  com- 
mended . 

Now  as  to  the  nature  and  number  of  her  institutions  let  tlie  Ciiurch  follow 
the  openings  of  divine  Trovideiice  and  the  leading  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  "1 
will  yet  for  this  be  inquired  of  by  the  house  of  Israel,"  is  jusr.  as  true  of 
religious  institutions  as  of  spiritual  blessings,  and  prayer  will  ensure  the 
wisdom  and  success  of  our  plans.  Surely  we  cannot  overlook  nor  forget  the 
providential  inception  and  feature  of  our  Melhodistic  institutions  and  agen- 
cies from  the  very  first.  We  have  what  we  call  our  church  economy.  Its 
itinerancy,  local  ministry,  annual  conferences,  class  meetings,  and  the  wiiole 
iiKicliinery,  were  the  suggestions  of  Pro>idence  to  the  great  executive  mind 
of  Wesley,  the  founder  of  our  cherished  system,  who  laid  hold  of  every  form 
which  promised  efficiency  and  success.  This  live,  loving  spirit  of  "  Chris" i- 
anity  in  earnest  "  has  taken  fortu  in  new  means  of  blessing  humanity,  when 
the  indications  of  Providence  and  the  exigencies  of  the  times  have  demanded. 
Our  Church  Kxtension  Society,  so  strong  already  in  its  hold  on  the  sympathy, 
nffection,  and  support  of  our  people,  is  not  yet  six  years  old.  Thus  will  it 
be  throughout  the  coming  century  of  Methodism  if  the  Church  is  faithful  and 
devoted.  "Thy  people  shall  be  willing  in  the  day  of  thy  power,"  was  pre- 
dicted of  the  inauguration  of  Christianity  and  the  successive  triumph  of  the 
Saviour's  reign  ;  and  when  the  tlames  of  Peu'ecost  descended  on  the  primi- 
tive disciples  and  kindled  the  spark  already  tiiere  into  higher  ardor,  tliey 
became  men  wholly  consecrated  to  Clirist.  So  mighty,  all-constraining  was 
the  new  affection,  that, for  a  time,  they  had  all  things  common,  and  sold  their 
possessions  and  goods  and  parted  tliem  to  all  men,  as  every  man  had  need." 
And  when  the  community  of  goods  was  found  to  be  impracticable — for  it  wa.s 
not  an  ordinance  of  God — the  apostles  gave  themselves  continually  to  prayer 
and  to  the  ministry  of  the  worvl,  while  honest  men,  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
and  of  wisdom,  were  ordained  deacons  to  take  care  of  tiie  widows  and  pro- 
vide for  the  poor;  and  contributions  were  made  by  the  poor  to  sufply  the 


46  MIXUTES    OF    CONVENTION. 

wants  of  the  poorer,  and  their  deep  poverty  abounded  unto  the  riches  of 
their  liberality.  Thus  did  Christianity  triumph  over  human  selfishness,  and 
thus  will  it  ever  triumph,  erecting  alms-houses,  asylums  for  the  aged,  infancy, 
aud  the  unfortunate.  And  may  God  baptize  the  Metliodist  Church  in  her 
entire  ministry  aud  membership  with  the  baptism  of  love  and  with  fire,  and 
enlarge  her  gifts  and  increase  her  zeal  in  every  good  work;  and  may  that 
baptism  fall  upon  us  here  in  this  Convention,  that  we  may  go  out  to  prcacli. 
to  give,  and  to  sacrifice,  and  to  sutler,  until  Christ  bhall  come,  and  the  great 
end  of  his  mission  and  death  sliall  be  accomplished  in  binding  the  world  to 
his  dominion  in  mercy.  And,  as  the  preacher  naid,  after  preaching  on  the 
inspiration  and  authority  of  the  Bible,  as  he  wound  up  with  an  exhortaiiou, 
"I  feel  salvation,"  after  talking  to  you  on  the  charitable  institutions  of  the 
Church,  I  wind  up  by  saying,  1  go  in  for  lull  salvation.     May  we  have  it  1 

After  singing,  the  subject  was  discusssed  at  considcrahle 
length. 

Col.  Gko.  F.  IMcFari-and. — The  brother  who  has  addressed  you  so  elo- 
quently upon  the  -'Charities  of  the  Church,"  alluded  to  the  care  of  iier  chil- 
dren, and  I  have  been  rrquested  to  continue  the  subject  by  giving  you  some 
facts  upon  this  branch  of  it.  My  relation  to  the  orphan  cliildren  of  the 
Church  and  of  the  Commonwealth  for  a  number  of  years  has  been  such  as  lo 
familiarize  me  with  these  facts.  Those  that  I  shall  give  you  are  relial.Io. 
Tiiough  not  given  with  the  eloquence  of  the  brotlier  who  preceded  me,  1  trust 
their  important  character  may  awaken  you  as  Methodists  to  your  duty  in  iliis 
direction. 

The  Methodist  Church  sent  to  the  army  large  numbers  of  her  most  valne<l 
sons.  1  believe  it  was  the  boast  of  our  presiding  Bishop  (Bishop  Simpson  i 
iliat  she  furnished  a  liundred  thotis.md  men  tu  tlie  armies  of  the  nation. 
Many  of  these  men  came  from  the  iniddlini:  or  poorer  classes,  usual'y  blesl 
with  large  families.  They  were  always  found  at  (he  front.  1  believe  il  is 
admitted  tliat  Christian  men  make  the  best  soldiers.  As  a  consei|uei.ce  hun- 
dreds and  iliousaiids  of  tln'in  ftll.     Tlicir  (irjiliaii'^  are  with  U'*  to-day. 

Pennsylvania,  in  iier  great  magnanimily,  and  through  some  of  lier  large- 
hearted  legislators,  and  the  earnest  activity  of  her  two  good  (uivernors, 
Curiiii  and  (ieary  lias  made  provision  for  these  bereaved  children,  and  there 
are  now  nearly  I], 700  of  Iheni  in  the  schools  of  the  Ciunmonwealih,  receiving 
ihe  care  and  training  tiial  will  make  tlu-m  good  and  useful  citizens,  and  an 
lionnr  lo  the  Stale.  Of  tliose  in  school  wlieji  tiie  last  report  was  publislicd. 
!is  yoM  were  informed  by  brolher  Torrence  last  evening,  320:!  were  rei>orled 
as  having  had  religious  pnrcnliigc.  And  of  this  number  ihe  large  proporliou 
of  l^tl'.t  are  reported  as  of  JA//(o</m/ parent jige.  .Adding  a  fair  proportion  of 
ihefil'J  unreported,  and  of  tiic  )  V.)  reported  as  I'rolestanl.  only  lo  disliiigui-h 
I  hem  from  Itomaii  Catholics,  I  presume,  the  i  slonishing  fact  appears  dial  al 
hast  ■»■'<  "'/'  ofcrn-ft  100  HoMicrs'  orplians  umler  ihe  care  of  I  1m-  stale  are  <if 
MrthddiM piirnitiiiir!  Tiie  l-ulltcrans  follow  with  ll!.".,  or  sixlei'U  out  of  each 
hundred;  the  I'reybylerians  with  llli,  or  fil'ieen  out  of  each  hunilrfd:  Vmy- 
liKlH  Willi  :J'J8,  and  other  dcnoniinalions  with  less  numbers. 


ADDRESS   OF   COT..    m'fARI.AND.  ^7 

Let  us  now  inquire  what  provision  has  been  made  by  tlie  several  denomi- 
nations for  the  care  of  these  orphan  children.  Wiien  I  speak  of  Homes,  I  re- 
fer to  institutions  established  by  denominational  means  for  (lie  care  of 
friendless  children  of  the  denomination,  and  tliat  simply  receive  soldiers' 
orphans  at  a  stipulated  rate  per  annum.  "When  I  speak  of  schools,  I  mean 
institutions  established  under  the  authority  of  the  Commonwealth  for  this 
purpose,  and,  consequently,  not  denominational.  The  Lutherans  have  Homes 
sufficient  to  accommodate  their  entire  number,  433.  Two  of  the  schools, 
capable  of  accommodating  at  least  400  more,  arc  entirely  under  their  con- 
trol. They  have  a  third  interest  in  another  school,  and  more  or  less  interest 
in  three  or  four  large  Homes.  They  could  probably  accommodate  under 
Lutheran  influence  the  entire  number  of  Methodist  children  in  addition  to 
their  own.  The  Presbyterians  have  no  distinct  Home,  but  have  a  control, 
ling  influence  in  two  that  could  provide  for  their  entire  number,  41:2 ;  while 
four  of  the  schools,  having  accommodations  for  some  900  children,  are  under 
Presbyterian  principalship.  The  Episcopalians,  with  l')7  children,  have 
three  Homes  that  can  provide  for  at  least  300,  besides  having  the  principal- 
ship  of  a  school  of  sufficient  capacity  for  half  as  many  more.  The  Catholics, 
having  157  children,  can  provide  good  institutions  for  fully  1200  children. 
The  Baptists  have  no  Homes,  but  have  a  school  under  their  control  that  will 
accommodate  228,  the  number  of  children  they  have.  The  Church  of  God, 
with  a  less  number  of  children,  has  control  of  a,  school  of  similar  capacity- 
The  German  Reformed  have  two  first-class  Homes.  Their  number  of  chil- 
dren is  1G6.  The  Methodists,  wiih  1209  children,  have  no  Home — no  room  fur 
a  single  child!  They  have  a  third  interest  in  one  school,  and  the  principal- 
ship  of  the  colored  soldiers'  orphans'  school,  containing  167  children,  about 
120  of  whom  are  of  Methodist  parentage,  has  passed  into  the  hands  of  a 
Methodist  within  the  year.  Beyond  this  the  Methodists  have  no  part  or  lot 
in  the  care  and  education  of  the  orphans  of  our  heroic  dead,  even  thougii  thi? 
offspring  of  their  own  brethren. 

In  the  Homes  the  denominational  tenets  of  the  Church  having  them  in 
charge  are  taught.  This  the  Department  cannot  prevent.  I  do  what  I  can 
to  prevent  the  children  of  one  denomination  from  going  to  the  Homes  cl 
another,  but  frequently  cannot  do  so.  The  Methodists  having  no  Homes  or 
schools,  thtrc  are  to  day  cbildi-en  of  Methodist  parentage  in  the  Homes  and 
under  the  influence  of  every  denomination  in  the  State  except  lite  Mcihcdist ! 
They  are  in  the  Homes  of  the  Lutherans,  Episcopalians,  German  Reformed, 
and  Catholic,  and  under  the  influence  of  the  Presbyterians,  the  Baptists  and 
others,  hut  none  raider  Methodist  care!  These  are  facts  that  need  no  conunent, 
but  that  must  come  home  to  my  Methodist  hearers  with  considerablf 
lorce. 

I  have  been  compelled,  from  time  to  time — and  I  do  it  most  cheerfully — 
to  accord  groat  credit  to  the  several  denominations  for  the  lively  and  active 
interest  tlioy  have  taken  in  this  good  work.  They  have  never  faileil  to  meet 
every  necessary  requirement;  to  improve  their  buildings  and  increase  their 
accommodations  as  the  wants  of  the  orphans  were  presented  to  them,  and  to 


48  MINUTES   OF   CONVENTION. 

throw  the  weight  of  their  influence  in  favor  of  the  soldier's  orphan  when  his 
interests  were  in  clanger.  I  have  had  many  occasions  for  thankfulness  and 
gratitude  to  the  several  denominations  for  the  earnestness  and  zeal  with 
which  they  have  seconded  every  effort  made  in  behalf  of  these  interesting 
children. 

I  cannot  say  that  the  Methodists  have  not  sympathized  with  this  work,  and 
spoken  kindly  of  it.  I  nmst  s&y,  however,  they  never  did  anything  towards 
])roviding  for  even  their  own  children.  I  have  often  thought  and  said — and 
you  will  pardon  me  for  repeating  it  here — that  a  denomination  as  wealthy^ 
as  influential,  as  public-spirited,  and  abounding  as  much  in  good  works  as  the 
Methodist  Church,  ought  to  have  some  provision  made  for  the  lambs  of  its 
flock,  and  thus  spare  me  the  pain  of  letting  them  go  wherever  circumstances 
send  them,  wliether  among  wolves  or  among  shepherds.  As  a  Methodist  I 
ftel  that  the  Church  is  not  blameless. 

The  speaker  having  finished  his  remarks  was  about  taking  liis 
scat  when  several  questions  were  put  to  him,  eliciting  further 
information,  as  follows,  in  substance  : 

Query. — How  long  will  these  schools  continue? 

Answer. — We  have  now  over  3,G0O  children  in  the  Homes 
and  schools,  ranging  from  six  to  sixteen  years  of  age,  Avlien  they 
are  dismissed.  There  are  probably  enough  children  eleven 
years  of  age  and  under,  to  continue  several  schools  in  ditferent 
j)arts  of  the  Commonwealth  for  five  years  or  ra<n'e.  Others  will 
clo.se  sooner. 

Query. — Are  these  schools  simj/ly  benevolent  in  their  charac- 
ter, (»r  do  (hey  l"urnish  a  support  that  would  be  a  motive  to  ac- 
cept the  charge  of  them  wholly  irrespective  of  their  benevolent 
character? 

Answer. — The  Homes  now  receive  ^100,  the  primary  schools 
^115,  iind  the  advanced  .schools  $125  per  anninn  for  each  pupil. 
The  latlei-  receive  $25  ])er  annum  for  each  |)upil  over  leu  years 
in  clothing;  the  others  furnish  their  own  elolhiiig. 

(^uery. — Don't  th(>  children  eoii(i-ii)iile  in  labor? 

.\nswer. —  I  Relieving  the  edu<'alioi)  of  these  dej)en(len(  eliildren 
would  be  very  ineoni|iletc  il"  it  only  embraced  intclleelual  ai.d 
jiioral  enltnre,  we  have  j)rovidc(l  for  two  hotu's  work  each  day 
for  each  |iii|»il,  lliiis  seeuring  both  ])liysieal  and  industrial  cid- 
tiirc.  Tile  cliildK  n  lia\-e  tlicir  siipei-inleiidiiits  in  every  braneh 
ot"  household  and  llirin  ialioi-,  and    work    for   two   |tiu"[)Oses — one 


ADDRESS   OF    DR.    DASIIIELL.  49 

educational,  the  other  to  reduce  expenses  of  support.  It  is  by 
this  means  tliey  are  kept  so  low,  and  yet  well  kept  and  well 
tau(i;ht. 

Query. — I  have  understood  that  access  to  the  inmates  was 
sometimes  refused  to  persons  of  another  denomination.  Is 
this  so  ? 

Answer. — Access  is  provided  for  by  regulations  for  ministers 
of  other  denominations.  But  when  the  principal  is  a  minister, 
he,  like  any  Methodist  minister  most  likely  would,  usually  loves 
his  own  Church  so  well  that  the  children,  looking  through 
his  spectacles,  soon  see  it  in  a  better  light  than  any  other. 

Query. — When  a  school  is  under  Lutheran  influence,  is  it 
only  by  courtesy  that  a  Methodist  has  permission  to  enter? 

Answer. — The  rules  adopted  provide  that  the  ministers  of 
each  denomination  may  enter  at  specified  times  and  meet  and  in- 
struct the  children  of  their  faith  in  a  separate  room.  It  is  not 
done,  however, — first,  because  ministers  are  generally  too  busy 
to  claim  the  privilege,  and,  secondly,  because  no  one  is  there  to 
see  the  rule  complied  with. 

Query. — Are  the  denominational  schools  distinct  from  the 
State  schools  spoken  of? 

Answer. — There  are  some  twenty-two  Homes,  &c.,  mostly 
denominational,  six  primary  schools,  and  thirteen  advanced 
schools.  Three  of  the  primary  and  eleven  of  the  advanced 
schools  are  private  property,  and  not  intended  to  be  denomina- 
tional, though  they  are  so  more  or  less. 

Rev.  R.  L.  Dashiell,  D.  D. — I  think  the  exphinations  given  in  answer  to 
the  questions  have  settled  two  things  in  the  mind  of  the  Convention.  In  the 
first  place  I  understand  that  the  State — I  have  no  fault  to  find  with  this — 
farms  out  the  guardianship  of  her  wards  to  those  denominations  who  will 
undertake  to  train  them.  The  Presbyterians,  Lutherans,  and  other  denomi- 
nations liave  promptly  stepped  forward  and  assumed  the  instruction  of  their 
own  cliildrcn.  The  Methodist  Church  lias  failed  to  do  this.  We  have  no 
complaint  to  make  of  other  denominations,  but  ought  to  make  complaint 
against  ourselves.  We  have  been  so  largely  engrossed  in  the  great  material 
development  of  our  work,  in  the  founding  of  our  churches,  in  extending  the 
area  of  our  Missionary,  and  Church  Extension,  and  Sunday-school  work — all 
of  vital  importance  to  the  Church — that  we  have  neglected  some  of  the  great 
humanitarian  questions  that  ought  to  have  touched  the  heart  of  the  Church, 

4 


50  MINUTES  OP   COKVENTIOX. 

and  ought  (o  liave  sprung  the  Church,  long  since,  to  some  noble  doing  in  the 
direction  of  caring  for  our  orphans  and  for  our  aged  and  infirm  oacs. 
Now,  sir,  among  the  first  things  Wesley  undertook  was  the  founding  of 
an  orphan  house.  This  was  contemporary  witli  the  very  coninienccnient 
of  Methodism  upon  this  Continent.  We  have  most  wonderfully  back- 
slidden from  the  point  where  Wesley  first  introduced  this  question  to  us.  I 
have  been  convinced,  sir,  for  years  that  we  have  been  waiting  too  long  upon 
other  denominations  to  provide  for  our  orphans,  for  our  aged,  and  for  our 
destitute,  and  I  may  say  for  the  fallen  ones  that  come  within  tlic  range  of 
our  gospel  and  the  influence  of  our  Church. 

Now,  sir,  let  me  give  a  simple  illustration  in  confirmation  of  our  lack  of 
service  in  this  direction.  I  have,  at  Carlisle,  letters  addressed  to  me  from 
superintendents  in  charge  of  these  orphan  schools  inquiring  if  something 
cannot  be  done  by  the  iMethodist  Church  to  provide  for  certain  boys,  bright 
and  vigorous  in  intellect,  who  are  craving  for  an  education  advanced  beyond 
that  which  the  orphan  schools  propose  to  give  them.  I  learn  from  some  of 
these  ministers,  and  some  who  are  ministers  of  other  denominations,  that  if 
we  will  not  provide  for  these  lads,  they  will  cheerfully  provide  for  them.  I 
have  been  ashamed,  Mr.  Tresident,  that  there  should  fall  to  our  lot  th6  charge 
of  these  orphan  boys  left  by  tlie  soldiers  of  this  Commonwealth,  and  that 
there  should  be  almost  utter  indiflfercnce,  on  our  part,  towards  providing  for 
their  necessities;  and  if  this  discussion  to-day  shall  do  nothing  more  than 
to  awaken  the  heart  of  Methodism  in  this  great  Commonwealth  to^irocecd  at 
once  to  provide  an  orphan  asylum  for  the  sons  of  our  deceased  soldiers  the 
Convention  will  not  have  been  called  in  vain.  I  hope,  sir,  it  will  be  the 
commencement  of  a  movement  in  this  direction.  Brethren,  let  us  wipe  away 
from  us  forever  this  reproach  that  the  great  Metiiodist  Church  of  this  Com- 
moiiwcallh  has  for  five  years  past  cast  the  orphans  of  its  citizen  soldiery  upon 
other  denominations  to  be  reared  and  educated. 

But,  sir,  it  is  not  only  with  reference  to  orphans  that  I  want  to  say  a  word 
to-day.  I  understand  that  this  topic  is  intended  to  include  other  charitable 
institutions  tlian  the  founding  of  orphan  asylums.  A  few  years  ago  it  fell  to 
my  lot  to  be  stationed  in  the  city  of  I'.aliimoie.  Three  or  four  pious  ladies 
undertook  the  work  of  founding  a  Protestant  infirmary  for  the  care  of  the 
sick.  Tlie  hospitals  of  the  city  were  in  charge  of  tlie  lloman  Catholics. 
Sisters  ofCliarily  were  the  only  nurses,  and  instances  were  given,  time  and 
again,  of  poor,  dying  men  wiio  craved  the  sympathy  of  those  who  believed  in 
the  I'roleslant  faitii,  who  loved  the  Protestant  Bible;  and  these  Protestant 
ladies  undertook  the  work  of  inaugurating  a  Protestant  infirmary.  What 
are  llie  facts  in  the  case  ?  There  was  but  very  little  sympathy  upon  the  j.arl 
of  Protestants  with  the  movement.  I  have  not  been  familiar  w.ih  ilie  iiistory 
of  liie  institution  for  the  last  few  years,  but  during  the  time  I  was  familiar 
Willi  its  Iiistory  it  was  in  a  starving  condition  ;  there  did  not  seem  to  be  in- 
terest enougli  on  the  part  of  Protestant  Ciiurchca  to  sustain  it  ;  it  does  Udi 
comiiare  in  vigor  and  strength  with  the  oilier  imspitala;  ami,  Mr.  President. 
I  have  lived  long  enough  to  come  to  this  conclusion,  that  t/ic  .Mrlhndi.U  Chinch 
it  tlrorif/  cniju<)h  Co  lake  care  of  her  orphatiK,  In  jimrid,'  unyluim  for  her  infirm,  tick 


ESSAY  OF  DR.  DASIIIETJ..  51 

and  dyhuj,  and  to  provide  homes  for  her  arjad  men  and  women.  It  is  (ru(!  tin- 
we.iltli  of  the  Cliurch  was  being  diverted  into  these  channels  of  cliarity  and 
benevolence;  and  I  trust  in  God  that  the  day  is  dawning  when  we  shall  arise 
in  our  strength  and  speak  upon  this  subject  in  tones  that  will  not  be  mis- 
understood, that  we  shall  act  as  well  as  talk  and  plead  in  our  Conventions. 

Now,  sir,  let  me  give  you  one  illustration  before  I  sit  down.  Not  in.lny 
weeks  since,  a  widow  came  to  me,  inquiring  what  should  be  done  with  lier 
boys.  She  was  the  widow  of  a  soldier,  but  not  a  soldier  who  belonged  to  any 
regiment  in  Pennsylvania;  she  came,  I  think,  from  the  West.  She  hud  two 
half  orphan  hoys.  Said  she,  "What  am  I  to  do?"  I  asked  her  to  what 
church  she  belonged.  She  replied,  "To  the  Methodist,  that  she  had  always 
been  a  Methodist."  Well,  said  I,  what  do  you  want  to  do  with  your  boys? 
"  I  want  them  put  in  an  orphan  asylum,"  she  said,  but  with  the  big  tears 
rolling  down  her  cheeks  she  added,  "I  would  like  if  the  boys  could  be  kept 
under  Methodist  influence;  their  father  was  a  Methodist,  and  their  grand- 
father, and  I  would  like  to  keep  them  under  Methodist  influence;  "  anil  she 
said  it  with  a  tender  pathos  that  went  to  my  heart,  and  I  then  felt  that  it  was 
time  for  us  to  do  something  in  this  direction.  A  few  days  afterwards  I  met 
her,  and  she  imformed  me  that  no  less  than  six  members  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church  had  visited  her  and  absolutely  entreated  the  privilege  of  tak- 
ing her  sons  and  providing  for  them — and  this  without  any  conditions.  And, 
Mr.  President,  this  is  only  in  accord  with  the  spirit  of  that  church:  she  don't 
ask  you  tc^found  orphan  asylums.  I  Vv'ill  venture  the  assertion  that  the  arch- 
bishop in  charge  of  this  diocese  would  come  into  this  Convention  to-morrow, 
if  the  opportunity  were  given,  and  enter  into  stipulations,  not  only  to  take 
charge  of  your  Protestant  orphans  and  provide  liberally  for  them,  but  to  pay 
you  a  bonus  for  the-privilcge  of  having  them  under  the  influence  of  the  Ro- 
man Ciitholic  Church.  Wliy,  sir,  on  one  bright  Sabbath  morning  I  was  pass- 
ing to  my  appointment  when  I  met  a  Catholic  who  said,  "  Where  are  you 
going?"  "To  the  Sabbath-school  on  Capitol  Hill,  a  little  mission,"  I  an- 
swered. "Oh  tut,  tut,"  said  he,  "that  is  all  wrong:  You  Methodists  go  on 
and  convert  the  grown-up  people  and  leave  the  children  to  us;  we  will  take 
care  of  them  ;  just  turn  them  over  to  us."  Yes,  sir,  they  will  be  glad  of  the 
opporl  unity  of  taking  care  of  them  ;  and,  as  I  said  before,  they  will  pay  you 
for  the  privilege.  Will  you  lei  them  have  them?  Will  you?  [Several  voices— 
"No,  never!  "  ]  No,  you  say,  the  Methodists  of  this  Commonwealth  will 
never  consent,  I  will  not  say  for  any  other  Protestant  denomination  to 
rear  her  children— yes,  I  will  say  it:  I  think  there  is  no  bigotry  in  ray 
soul;  1  think  I  have  a  kind  feeling  towards  all  my  friends  of  sister  denomi- 
nations, but  I  do  love  the  Methodist  Church  better  than  any  other,  just  as  I 
love  my  wife  better  than  any  other  man's  wife;  and  while  these  other  de- 
nominations would  do  well  by  our  orphans,  if  ever  my  boys  ami  girls  are  to 
be  left  to  the  tender  mercies  of  an  orphan  house,  God  grant  that  thoy  fall 
into  the  hands  of  Methodists,  and  nobody  else. 

Now,  sir,  let  us  do  something  practical.  We  have  had  a  splendid  general 
class  meeting,  during  the  session  of  the  Convention— a  continuous  love-feast, 
full  of  rich  Christian  experience;  but,  brethren,  let  us  this  afternoon  inau- 


52  MINUTES  OF  CONVENTION. 

gurate  something  that  will  tell  practically  upon  this  great  question,  extend 
our  influence  in  the  direction  of  these  Christian  charities,  and  in  a  few 
months  on  either  side  of  the  Alleghenys,  let  there  rise  a  beautiful  orphan 
house  that  shall  be  crowded  with  those  who  are  our  children,  and  whom  we 
intend  to  train  in  the  faith  of  Methodism  and  of  Christ. 

Rev.  I.  H.  Toruence — Mr.  President;  I  thought  it  was  just  the  time,  at 
the  close  of  this  good  experience  meeting,  to  shape  that  part  of  our  action 
that  looked  at  the  practical — to  do  something.  In  order  to  give  that  practi- 
cal shape  I  beg  leave  to  ofl'er  the  following  resolution,  which  1  will  ask  the 
Secretary  to  read. 

The  Secretary  read  the  resolution,  as  follows: 

Resolved,      That  a  commission  of be  appointed  by  this  Convention, 

to  more  fully  consider  the  subject  of  establishing  an  orphan  asylum  in  this 
State,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  to  receive 
contributions  for  thai  purpose. 

A.  B.  Leonard  moved  to  amend  the  resolution  by  providing 
for  the  erection  of  two  homes^  one  east  and  one  west  of  the 
mountains. 

After  discussion,  in  which  Rev.  I.  H.  Torrence,  Rev.  B.  H. 
Crever,  Rev.  Dr.  Dashiell  and  Col.  McFarland,  participated, 
the  amendment  prevailed,  and  the  resolution  as  amended  was 
adopted. 

A  proposition  to  fill  the  blank  with  "  one  from  each  Con- 
ference" was  objected  to  as  rendering  the  commission  insufficient, 
owing  to  the  difficulty  of  persons  living  at  a  distance  meeting 
togetlicr. 

CoL.  Mc'F.\in,.\Ni)  said  on  this  head  tluit,  while  it  would  be  very  pleasant 
to  have  every  Conference  represented,  yet  every  Conference  would  rejoice  to 
liave  this  commission  composed  of  earnest  men,  who  should  bo  easy  of  access 
to  each  other. 

A  motion  that  the  l)lank  be  filled  and  the  Chair  appoint  a 
committee  of  seven  was  at  length  agreed  to. 

Uev.  S.  W.  Tjio.mas.  —  1  tliiiiU  we  ouglit  to  have  resjionses,  and  1  am  pre- 
pared to  subscribe  $100. 

Others  proniplly  followed,  a.s  follows: 

A.  I).  Dobbs,  $H)0  ;  R.  Ja  Dashiell,  .<i?l()0;  Col.  McFarland' 
^100;  Rev.  Dr.  Di.rbin,  ^lOO;    Dr.  Tliompson  Mitchell,  $100  ; 


ADDRESS   OF    BISHOP   SIMPSON.  53 

Mrs.  Bishop  Simpson,  $100 ;  Mrs.  Dobbs,  $100  ;  :Mrs.  S.  W. 
Thomas,  $100  ;  A.  Blakcley  (of  Chester),  $100;  H.  L.  P(nvell 
(of  Chester),  $100;  llev.  I.  II.  Torrence,  $100;  Joseph  Lees 
(of  Montgomery  Co.),  $100 ;  John  Shepherd  (of  Darby),  $50. 
Others  subsequently  subscribed  and  about  $2,000  were  raised 
before  tlie  close  of  the  Convention. 

Bishop  Simpson  remarked,  as  the  subscription  was  being 
taken,  "  This  is  a  pleasant  episode ;  it  is  spontaneous  combus- 
tion ;  it  was  not  in  the  programme." 

Bishop  Simpson. — I  have  a  deep  conviction  that  there  is  no  cause  on  which 
God  smiles  more  complacently  than  on  efforts  to  educate  orphan  children, 
and  I  have  no  doubt  that  if  this  thing  be  commenced  in  good  earnest  He  will 
raise  up  friends  for  it  in  very  unexpected  quarters.  A  few  of  our  brethren 
in  New  Orleans,  where  we  were  poor  and  weak,  felt  an  interest  in  the  orphan 
children  of  our  colored  soldiers,  and  they  commenced  without  means.  The 
Marine  Hospital  was  offered  them  to  commence  their  school  in.  A  few  gave 
slight  contributions.  While  they  were  doing  what  they  could,  having  gath- 
ered about  thirty  children,  a  gentleman  came  over  from  Paris,  moved  by  a 
desire  to  do  something  for  these  children,  and  not  knowing  what  had  been 
done.  When  informed  of  what  they  bad  undertaken,  he  told  them  that  he  had 
come  to  do  that  kind  of  work,  but  as  they  were  at  it  he  would  deposit  $10,000 
in  the  bank  at  New  Orleans,  and  when  they  had  deposited  $20,000  they  could 
draw  the  whole  $30,000  and  purchase  a  property  with  it.  When  I  visited 
that  city  subsequently  the  $20,000  was  not  made  up,  and  they  wrote  a  letter 
asking  for  time  and  sending  a  statement  that  this  school  was  to  be  under  the 
oversight  of  the  Methodist  Church.  While  I  was  there  answer  was  received 
from  him  extending  the  time,  and  adding  that,  though  he  was  a  Catholic,  he 
was  exceedingly  glad  that  the  institution  would  be  under  the  control  of  the 
Methodist  Church;  that  he  had  been  afraid  to  put  anything  under  the  con- 
trol of  the  Catholic  Church  lest  it  should  be  diverted  from  the  orphans  and 
turned  to  some  other  purpose.  The  property  has  been  purchased — a  pro- 
perty of  some  fourteen  hundred  acres,  I  think,  with  large  buildings,  now 
handsomely  fitted  up,  and  the  last  time  I  was  there  the  school  moved  one 
hundred  and  twenty  children,  taken  from  the  city,  to  be  placed  on  that 
orphan  farm.  Four  weeks  ago  I  was  in  New  Castle,  and  in  Conference  there 
it  was  announced  that  one  brother,  in  Danville,  111.,  wishing  to  make  a  dis- 
position of  his  property,  after  having  made  arrangements  for  his  children, 
and  considerable  sums  to  other  objects,  had  just  donated  $18,400  to  that  or- 
phan school.  It  is  in  this  way  that  God  raises  up  friends.  He  touches  the 
mind,  and  the  widow  and  the  orphan  are  under  God's  special  care. 

Rev.  T.  C.  Murphy.— The  Committee  of  Seven,  which  has  been  ordered, 
has  been  referred  to  the  Bishop  to  fill.  He  would  very  likely  feel  a  deli- 
cacy in  appointing  himself,  and   it  occurs  to   me  that  there  are  very  grave 


54  MINUTES   OF   CONVENTION. 

reasons  why  he  should  be  ou  that  Committee.     I  move,  therefore,  that  he  be 
one  of  the  Committee. 

The  motion  was  unanimously  adopted. 

Col.  Slifer's  name  M-as  here  announced  as  a  $100  contributor 
to  the  fund  for  establishing  an  orphan  school  for  the  children  of 
fallen  soldiers. 

Rev.  Dk.  Loomis. — I  suppose  the  brethren  of  this  Convention  have  ascer- 
tained by  this  time  that  it  is  very  difficult  to  liear  the  speakers  from  this 
platform,  and  I  find  a  very  general  sentiment  tliat  this  Convention  ouglit  to 
adjourn  from  this  hall  to  old  St.  George's  Chureh.  Therefore,  I  move  that 
the  sessions  for  to-morrow  be  held  in  that  church. 

After  a  few  remarks  from  Rev.  Dr.  Cooke,  the  pastor  of  the- 
church,  and  other  brethren,  the  motion  was  put  and  carried. 

The  following  names  were  announced  as  subscribers  to  the 
Orphan  School  fund  :  Mrs.  Margaret  H.  Stevens,  $100 ;  Hon. 
I.  S.  Diehl,  $100;  Mrs.  Anna  Graham,  $100;  St.  Paul's 
Church,  Philadelphia,  $100. 

An  invitation  to  visit  the  Union  League  Rooms  Avas  ac- 
cepted. 

The  Convention  then  adjourned,  to  meet  at  the  usual  hour  in 
the  evening. 

The  Doxology  was  sung,  and  llev.  Dr.  Hodgson  pronounced 
the  benediction. 


FFFTII  SESSION". 

HollTICULTURAL    HaI.I,,    PHILADELPHIA. 

Wedncadaij  crcniiuj,  Oct.  l[)l/i,  1870. 

The  State  Convention   incl   accnrding  to   afljournment  at  7| 
o'clofk. 

liishoj)  Siin]»s()ii  in  the  chair. 

UcligiouH  services  conducted  by  Dr.  .1.  i'.  Diiibin. 


ADDRESS    OF    Tn:V.    I'.    COOMBK.  OO 

The  minutes  of  the  afternoon  session  were  read  and  approved. 
llev.  C.  H.  Payne,  D.D.  presented  the  following  resolution, 
which  was  adopted,  viz: 

Resolved,  Tli:it  the  Commission  to  consider  the  sulyect  of  Orplian  Asylums, 
ordered  at  the  afternoon  session  be,  and  hereby  are  aulliorized  to  secure  such 
AsyUitns  either  by  purchase  or  otlierwise  whenever  in  their  judgment  they 
shall  deem  it  best  to  do  so. 

The  topic  for  the  evening  was  then  announced  by  the  chair 
to  be,  "The  duty  of  the  Church  in  relation  to  the  Christian 
Sabbath,  and  the  cause  of  Temperance." 

Committee,  The  Christian  Sabbath,— Rex.  AV.  W.  Wythes, 
Hon.  Joseph  McEnally  and  Jlev.  William  Sampson.  The 
Cause  of  Temperance, — Hon.  John  McCalmont,  James  Black, 
Esq.,  and  Rev.  P.  Coombe. 

No  member  of  the  Conmiittee  on  the  Christian  Sabbath  was 
present. 

Rev.  P.  Coombe  presented  the  report  of  the  Committee  on 
"The  duty  of  the  Church  in  relation  to  the  Cause  of  Temper- 
ance." 

Speech  of  Eev.  P.  Coombe. 

Brethren  of  the  Convention  and  friends  of  our  common  Methodism  :  I  have 
not  prepared  any  wriiten  address,  for  two  reasons:  First,  I  hadn't  the  time, 
having  just  returned  from  atrip  to  the  Scuth-western  corner  of  the  State,  of 
four  months,  lacking  three  days  ;  and,  in  the  second  place,  I  preferred  to 
give  you  warm  words  from  a  heart  that  has  been  rubbed  up  into  white  heat 
by  constant  friction  with  the  most  infernal  and  villanous  system  that  ever 
came  upon  the  face  of  this  earth.  Since  I  came  into  the  convention,  how- 
ever, I  felt  called  upon  to  write  out  a  little  introduction,  the  object  of  which 
will  be  to  show  the  relation  of  the  temperance  question  to  the  topics  that  are 
on  the  programme  of  this  Convention. 

'•Resolved  that  the  Temperance  Reform  proposes  the  destruction  of  in- 
temperance by  the  overthrow  of  any  system  which  sustains  or  permits  in- 
temperance. Intemperance  is  not  a  personal  sin  only,  nor  is  it  a  personal 
performance." 

Now,  in  presenting  the  temperance  cause  to  this  Convention,  we  propose 
to  call  your  attention,_first,  to  its  past;  secondly,  to  its  present  ;  anl,  third- 
ly, to  its  future, 

With  reference  to  the  past,  it  must  be  simply  an  outline  of  its  hi.-tory. 
The  temperance  cause  became  an  organized  reform  in  this  country  in  1811. 
It  assumed  an  organized  form  on  this  ground— that  the  use  of  intoxicating 
liquors  was  injurious  to  the  health  and  destructive  to  the  happiness  of  men. 
To  establish  that  proposition  it  had  three  questions  to  settle;   three  opini^ms 


56  MINUTES   OF   CONVENTION. 

to  overcome.  When  (he  temperance  reformation  commenced  its  operation?, 
public  opinion,  as  a  general  thing,  sustained  three  propositions  :  first,  that 
it  was  riglit  for  men  to  drink  intoxicating  liquors  as  a  beverage  ;  second, 
that  it  was  right  for  men  to  sell  intoxicating  liquors  as  a  beverage;  and, 
third,  that  it  was  right  for  government  to  license  men  to  sell  intoxicating 
liquors  as  a  beverage.  You  can  see,  at  a  glance,  that  before  the  temperance 
reform  could  find  public  sympathy,  much  more,  before  it  could  be  successful 
and  triumph,  it  must  revolutionize  public  opinion  on  these  three  points  :  It 
must  prove  that  it  is  wrong  to  drink,  to  sell,  or  to  license  the  sale  of  intoxi- 
cating drinks  as  a  beverage.  Previous  to  18G5 — for  there  I  will  limit  the 
past — we  had  settlcil  two  of  these  questions,  namely,  we  had  clearly  estab- 
lished the  fact  that  to  use  intoxicating  liquors  as  a  beverage,  was  a  sin;  and 
secondly,  tiial  it  was  a  crime  against  God  and  society  to  sell  intoxicating 
liquors  as  a  beverage;  and,  as  I  shall  presently  show  you,  came  near  settling 
the  question  of  governmental  policy. 

As  some  of  you  miy  not  be  prepared  (o  admit  what  we  have  assumed,  I 
will  call  your  attention  to  one  or  two  facts:  first,  with  regard  to  the  public 
judgment  and  conscience  in  respect  to  liquor  trafficking.  1  have  traveled  in 
forty-seven  out  of  the  sixty-six  counties  of  your  State,  and  I  give  you  my 
personal  word  and  vouch  for  its  correctness,  that  I  have  not  come  across  a 
single  man,  outside  of  the  church,  who  believes  any  member  of  the  church  has 
any  religion  at  all — I  mean  experimental  religion — who  drinks  intoxicating 
drinks  as  a  beverage.  In  the  second  place,  you  will  find  that  the  church, 
generally,  with  very  little  exception  indeed,  has  pronounced  in  favor  of  total 
abstinence  as  a  duly,  and  that  the  use  of  intoxicating  liquor,  as  a  beverage 
is  a  sin  in  the  iliird  place,  the  time  is  not  long  since  when  occasionally  a 
minister  of  the  gospel  would  rise  in  a  Christian  pulpit  and  preacii  a  sermon 
in  favor  of  the  moderate  use  of  wine.  What  would  you  think  of  a  man  who 
sliould  risk  his  reputation  by  preaching  such  a  sermon  at  the  present  day  ? 
Sucli  a  man  in  any  civilized  community  can  scarcely  be  found,  if  found  at 
all.  Now,  from  these  facts,  we  conclude  that  the  public  judgment  has  been 
revoluiionized  upon  tliis  subject,  and  tlial  now,  wilii  scarcely  un  exception,  it 
is  deemed  to  be  a  wrong  against  llie  individual,  and  a  sin  against  society  and 
against  God,  for  a  inan  to  use  intoxicating  liquors  as  a  beverage. 

In  tlie  second  place  we  have  settled  the  (juestion  of  \iie  immorality  of  the 
liquor  tr.iflic.  We  have  done  that,  first,  by  driving  every  good  man  out  of 
the  traile  of  intoxicating  drinks  as  a  beverage.  1  jinirm  iiere.  what  I  lirndy 
believe  from  observation  and  personal  knowledge,  th.il  iliere  is  not  (o-day  a 
single  sincere  honest  ('liriblian  engaged  in  selling  liijuor  in  Pennsylvania; 
and  if  not  in  Pennsylvania,  it  is  certain  lliat  one  cannot  be  found  in  any 
other  State  of  lliis  Union,  for  I'ennsylvania  is  far  behind  any  oilier  .'>l.ite  in 
liie  progress  and  ilii-  Irimnpli  oftiic  Temperance  cause.  In  llie  second  jilace, 
IK)  body  believes  now,  that  a  go(jd  man  ouglil  to  beengagtd  in  selling  inloxi- 
caling  drink.  And  if  any  of  you  have  any  doubt  on  this  point,  if  yon  will 
Hctect  out  of  llie  whole  class  of  liquor  sellers  within  the  range  of  your  know- 
ledge the  best  man  you  can  find,  an<l  ln-ing  liini  to  nie,  I  will  put  llie  IJiblo 
in  his  liand.«i,  and,  when  sworn,  will   put  a  single  iiuestion  lo   iiini  Mod  Mbide 


ADDRESS   OF   REV.    P.    COOMBE.  57 

the  issue;  that  question  is,  Arc  jou  lijing  lo  be  a,  Cliristiuii?  and  I  don't 
believe  tluit  anybody  in  this  assembly  believes  that  there  is  any  man  in 
Pennsylvania,  engaged  in  the  lii|U(ir  traffic,  who  would  be  silly  ami  wicked 
enough  to  say  under  oath,  I  am.  Ami  if  he  did,  there  are  very  few  in  I'enn- 
sylvania,  who  would  be  simple  enough  to  believe  it.  That  (juesiion  is 
settled. 

I  cameacross  a  singular  fict  the  other  day,  in  Fayette  County,  which  shows 
the  opinion  of  liquor  sellers  on  that  subject.  A  certain  church  in  IJrowns- 
ville,  inside  of  an  old  Indian  fort,  of  revolutionary  times,  was  supported 
mainly  by  the  contributions  of  distillers  in  the  neighborhood.  The  pastor  of 
the  cliuiuli  waited  upon  one  of  tlie  leading  distillers  and  asked  him  to  un- 
dergo that  peculiar  rite  which,  in  that  denomination,  constituted  one  a 
member  of  the  church.  The  distiller  looked  at  him  carefully,  and  then 
smiled  and  said,  "Why  do  you  ask  me  to  become  a  member  of  the  church, 
when  you  know  the  business  1  am  engaged  in,  and  no  man  engaged  in  my 
business  is  fit  for  membership  in  any  Ciiristian  Church?"  That  was  the  li- 
quor-seller's testimony;   and  it  is  the  testimony  of  all  engaged  in  the  traffic- 

I  said,  a  moment  ago,  wo  came  very  nearly  settling  the  third  question; 
namely,  the  criminality  of  the  governmental  policy,  of  licensing,  sustaining, 
and  protecting  the  liquor  traffic.  From  1845  to  1855,  a  period  of  ten  years, 
the  following  facts  developed  themselves  ;  namely,  that  twelve  States  in  our 
Union  passed  laws  directly  in  favor  of  temperance  reform.  Two  other 
States,  taking  advantage  of  conventions  to  reform  or  remodel  their  Stale 
Constitution,  admitted  the  principle  of  prohibition  and  put  it  into  their  Con- 
stitution; namely,  Ohio  and  :\Iichigaii ;  and  there  it  is  to-day,  brethren,  to 
go  out  no  more  forever.  There  is  no  license  system  in  Ohio  and  Michigan, 
and  there  never  will  be.  The  States  that  thus  adopted  the  temperance  laws, 
most  of  them  absolutely  prohibitory,  but  all  of  them  far  in  advance  of  the 
old  license  system,  are  the  following:  Maine,  Massachusetts,  Vermont,  Con- 
necticut, New  Hampshire,  Iowa,  Rhode  Island,  Minnesota,  Indiana,  Dela- 
ware—the only  slave  State,— New  York,  and  Pennsylvania.  I  give  you 
these  facts  and  these  States  by  name  to  show  this  fact — first,  that  we  had  not 
only  revolutionized  the  public  opinion  with  regard  to  the  use  and  sale  of  in- 
toxicating drink,  and  had  so  far  undermined  the  license  sys  em  as  to  enlist 
twelve  States  by  statute  law  and  twootiiers,  in  the  manner  above  indicated — 
fourteen  in  all— in  favor  of  the  principles  of  the  temperance  reformation. 

And  now  I  come  to  a  most  painful,  and  yet  very  interesting  and  instruc- 
tive period  i!i  the  history  of  the  past  temperance  reformation,  and  that  is, 
the  reason  why  our  reformation  stopped  just  at  that  point  ;  for  stop  it  did. 
Previous  to  1855  we  had  so  far  reformed  public  sentiment,  and  so  far  in- 
fluenced public  conscience,  that  the  people,  with  a  great  deal  of  unanimity, 
had  not  only  organized  a  Slate  Temperance  Society,  but  had  organized  a 
system  of  general  instruction  and  education  throughout  the  country.  Min- 
isters of  the  Gospel— not  men  with  sore  throats  and  broken-down  constitu- 
tions, but  men  of  the  very  best  character  in  their  denomination— men  of  the 
highest  standard  and  type  of  ability,  were  employed  by  this  State  Associa- 
tion, and  they  went  like  flaming  heralds  east,  west,  north,  and  south,  to  edu- 


58  MINUTES   OF   CONVENTION. 

cate  the  people,  and  that  system  generally  was  the  grand    cause   why  these 
fourteen  States  wheeled  into  line   under  the   revolution  of  public  opinion. 
But  in  1854  an  event  happened  in   the  courts  of  these   United  States  that 
stopped  the  wheels  of  tlie  temperance  reformation  and  threw  us  hick  ward  ; 
I  mean  the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise  and  the  passage  of  the  Kansas- 
Nebraska  Act.     The  r<  peal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise  broke  down  the  di- 
vision line  between  free  and  slave  States.     Tlie  Kansas  and  Nebraska  Acts 
bound  the  Territories  and  slavery,  and  those  two  acts  of  course  broke  down 
the  domestic  and  local  character  of  slavery  and  introduced  it  into  the  politics 
of  this  nation,  as  the  great  national  political  issue.     Immediately  upon  the 
passage  of  tliese  two  ads  the  mind  and  heart,  especially  of  the  North,  became 
fired  witli  most  intense  indignation  and  excitement  at.  this  outrage.     Tlio  re- 
sult was,  that  tlie  Republican  Party  sprang  into  existence,  begotten  and  horn 
by    the   repeal    of  the    Missouri    Compromise   and    Kansas-Nebraska    Acts. 
Slavery  became  immediately  the  great  national  political  issue  of  the  country. 
It  is   a  pliilosophical    fact,  my   friends,  tliat   no    individual,    or   public    mind 
either,  can  be  greatly  absorbed  witli  two  great   issues  at   one   and  the  same 
time.     Slavery,  becoming  the   great  political  issue,   eat  up  our  temperance 
question.     It  was  Pharaoh's  lean  kine  eating  up  the  fat  ones.     Our  system  of 
general  education  was  immediately  broken  down,  and  from  1855  to  18ol  this 
country  did   very  little   except   to  talk  about  slavery,    write  about  slavery, 
preach  about  slavery,  pray   about  slavery,  fight  and  swear   about  slavery. 
The  result  was  that,  by  1861,  a  good  miny  of  these  laws  were  repealed,  owing 
to  the  never-ceasing  vigilance  of  the  liquor  party   and   the  diversion  of  the 
public  mind  from  the  temperance  question  by  the  discussion  of  the  question 
of  slavery. 

In  18(Jl  the  excitement  about  slavery  broke  out  in  rebellion.  Tlie  old  flag 
was  fired  on  at  Ft.  Sumler,  and  the  nation  flew  to  arms  as  for  its  life  and 
existence.  From  18ljl  to  18G5  we  were  engaged  in  fighting  rebellion  and 
.saving  the  life  of  the  nation,  and  during  those  four  years  the  following  facts 
were  exhibited  in  the  influence  of  tliat  excitement  and  rebellion  on  the  tem- 
perance cause  :  First,  the  system  of  education  was  broken  up  ;  secondly,  our 
general  organization  was  demorali/ed,  and  ceased  operation  ;  thinlly,  the 
temperance  cause,  in  its  advociey,  was  left  almost  entirely  in  tlie  lian<ls  of 
the  Sons  of  Temperance,  Teiiiiilcs  of  Honor  iirul  'reiiipciiince,  and  the  (iood 
Templars;  sothat,  at  the  close  of  the  war,  we  found  ourselves  just  in  tliis 
condition:  First,  no  .system  of  general  education  ;  secondly,  no  open  pledge 
organization  that  was  doing  anytiiing  of  conseiiuence;  and,  thirdly,  the  tem- 
perance reformation  wis  exclusively  in  llie  hands  of  \vhat  is  calleil  the  Secret 
Orders  of  Temperance.     That  is  the  past. 

What  I  mean  by  the  present,  whicii  forms  tiio  seconil  point,  commences 
with  IKt;.").  .\  large  number  of  gentlemen  met  in  the  interest  of  this  country 
in  tin- eiiy  of  New  York,  and  while  discussing  the  general  (ini'siinn  wliieli 
iirose  out  of  the  conclusion  of  the  war — and,  perhnjis,  discussing  more  than 
any  other,  the  policy  of  rconslrnclion — came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  Tem- 
perance cause  ought  to  be  reconstructed  ;  and  they  went  to  work  to  accom- 
jtlish  its  reconstruction.      Tiiey   ii]q>oiiiled  ;i  committee,   whose  duly    was   lo 


ADDRESS   OF    REV.    P.    COOM15E.  59 

call  a  National  Temperance  Convention.  And  now  I  want  your  attention, 
brctliren  in  the  Church,  and  ministers  of  the  Church.  We  culled  a  Conven- 
tion ;  tliat  Convention  consisted  of  a  novel  feature.  The  cliurclies  of  this 
country,  in  their  official  and  organized  form,  were,  for  the  first  time  in  the 
history  of  this  country,  invited  to  take  part  officially  in  the  great  work  of 
temperance  reformation.  Before  that,  all  invitations  which  went  to  tlie 
Church,  to  elect  and  send  delegates  to  the  National  Convention,  weie  referred 
to  them  as  individuals.  This  call  specified  the  Churcli  in  her  organized  and 
official  and  ecclesiastical  character,  and  invited  them  to  elect  and  send  dele- 
gates to  Saratoga,  to  meet  August  2,  18G5,  to  reconstruct  the  temperance 
reformation.  The  same  call  contained  also  an  invitation  to  the  different  or- 
ganizations of  the  country,  open  and  private,  to  do  the  same  thing  ;  and  on 
the  21st  of  August,  1865,  the  Convention  met,  thus  composed,  for  the 
first  time  in  the  history  of  the  temperance  reformation,  at  Saratoga  Springs, 
and  organized.  Three  hundred  and  twenty  delegates  v^ere  present.  More 
than  lialf  of  them  came  directly  from  the  Christian  Churches,  and  were  com- 
posed of  ministers  or  members  of  the  churches  they  represented.  Tlie  other 
portion  came  from  the  temperance  organizations  of  the  nation  ;  so  that  the 
Christian  Church  of  this  nation  had  at  least  three-fourths,  if  not  four-fifths 
of  the  membership  of  that  Convention.  That  Convention  did  three  things. 
In  the  first  place,  it  reconstructed  the  temperance  cause,  by  restoring  it  to 
its  original  platform  and  giving  it  its  primary  character.  They  did  this 
by  the  following  resolution:  ''Resolved,  That  the  Temperance  cause  is  a 
Christian  enterprise;  and,  while  it  is  right  and  proper  for  its  friends  to  avail 
themselves  of  the  power  of  the  law  and  tlie  teaching  of  the  sciences,  and  to 
employ  all  other  agencies  and  instrumentalities  by  which  the  temporal  wel- 
fare is  promoted" — now  mark — "  their  main  reliance  must  be  on  the 
reliffiotis  principle  and  the  co-operation  of  the  relif/ious  community." 

There  is  where  the  temperance  cause  started  first,  in  1811.  It  was  started 
by  the  Church,  placed  upon  a  religious  basis,  and  for  twenty-five  years — 
from  1811  to  1836— the  Church  kept  it  wholly.  But  for  causes  not  necessary 
to  relate,  the  Church  and  the  temperance  society  gradually  drifted  apart, 
and,  at  the  close  of  the  war,  the  Church  was  one  thing,  and  the  temperance 
organization  quite  another.  That  Convention,  therefore,  reconstructed  tlie 
temperance  cause  and  put  it  upon  its  original  foundation,  declaring  ii  to  be 
a  Christian  enterprise  and  dependent  mainly  on  the  religious  principle  and 
cooperation  of  the  religious  community.  In  the  second  place,  they  organ- 
ized a  National  Temperance  Society,  and,  by  a  mistake,  refused  the  old  name  of 
"Union,"  so  as  not  to  come  in  contact  with  the  old  "  Temperance  Union," 
and  called  it  "  Society"  instead  of  "Union."  They  located  its  headquarters 
at  New  York  City,  and  placed  in  its  Board  of  Managers  members  and  min- 
isters from  the  leading  denominations  in  the  country,  and  also  officers  and 
members  from  the  leading  men  of  the  other  temperance  organizations  of  the 
nation.  They  organized  that  National  Temperance  Society  to  be  the  head 
and  representative  of  temperance  in  the  United  States  of  America,  deter- 
mined, hereafter,  to  conduct  llic  temperance  reformation,  in  this  whole  nation, 
on  a  Christian  platform,  and  regulate  it  by  a  Christian  policy. 


60  MINUTES   OF   COXYENTIOX. 

The  third  thing  they  did,  was  to  request  every  State  in  the  Union  to  or- 
ganize a  State  Temperance  Union,  and  make  it  auxiliary  to,  and  connect  it 
with  the  National  Temperance  Union.  The  object  of  that  was,  to  bind  the 
States  to  give  aid  to  the  temperance  reformation  throughout  tlie  country,  and 
to  model  the  temperance  reformation  under  the  form  of  the  National  and 
State  Governments.  We  have  a  Congress  for  the  whole,  a  State  government 
for  eacli  State,  and  we  propose  to  carry  out  this  same  principle  in  conducting 
this  reformation  to  final  success  and  triumph.  We  have,  therefore,  a  Na- 
tional Aid  Society  in  each  State  in  the  Union;  and  these  are,  or  ought  to  be, 
connected  with  the  National  Temperance  Society  as  the  head  and  represen- 
tative of  them  all. 

On  the   2Gth  of  February,  1867,  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  complied  with 
the  request  of  the  National  Temperance  Convention,  and,  in  the  city  of  ITar- 
risburgh,  having  convened  a  convention  by  the  same  call,  composed  in  the 
same  manner,  that  convention  met  in  the  Court  House,  at  Harrisburgh,  and 
organized  a  Pennsylvania  State  Union,  of  which  I  have  the  honor  of  being 
corresponding  secretary.     That  State  Temperance  Union  is  auxiliary  to  the 
National  Union,  and  that  State  Temperance  Union  proposes  now  to  reach 
the  Churches  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  by  an  agency  which  never  before 
existed  in  the  State.     When  that  State  Temperance  Union  was  formed,  or, 
rather  before,  there  was  not  a  single  lecturer  or  minister  employed  in  the 
State  specilically  that  was  not  a  representative  of,  and  sent  out  by  one  of  the 
Order.     The  result  was,  that  a  great  many  of  our  Churches,  being  opposed 
conscientiously  and  religiously  to  all  forms  of  secret  organizations,  could  not 
be  reached  by  any  existing  instrumentality.     A  great  many  others  in  various 
Churches,  wlio  had  not  commiiled  themselves  deiioniinationally  and  ecclesias- 
tically against  secret  societies,  si  ill  had  ilicir  prejudices,  ami  thus  ilmusands 
(if  the    warmest-hearleil   temperance  men   in   Pennsylvania  refused   to    have 
any  tiling  to  do  with  these  secret  orders,  as  they  are  called.     These  secret 
orders,    so-called,   joined    with    tiic    members    and    ministers    of    Ciiristian 
Churches  in  forming  tlie  Pennsylvania  Slate  Temperance  Union,  the  object  of 
wliieh  was,  first,  to  create  an  agency  that  would  be  acceptable  to  the  Churches 
coming  in  contact  willi  none  of  tlieir  principles,  opposing  none  of  their  reso- 
lutions, and  being  free  from  all  of  llieir  jjvejudices.     The  object  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania State  Union,  therefore  is,  first,  to  secure  the  active,  official,  and  un- 
dying co-operation  of  each  and   every  Clirislian  denomination  in  the  Slate. 
In  our  Hoard  of  Managers  arc  rcpresetilalives  from  tlie  Protestant  Churches; 
and  one  of  the  most  earnest  men  we  iiave  is  a  lawyer  in  Oil  City,  possessing 
tliree  qualifications,      in   llie  first  jdace,  he  is  a  true  Democrat  ;  in  the  s<>ciind 
place,   lie   was  a  former  druniiard;   in  the  third   place,    he  is  a  rigid    Uoniaii 
Catholic. 

I  mention  these  facts  to  show  ynu  Ihat  this  Union  uirans  snmi'tliiiii!;:  and, 
if  I  hail  time,  and  you  had  patience,  1  would  like  to  give  yuii  a  lillle  nulline 
of  the  manner  in  whicii  the  Cimreiie.s  are  wlu-eiing  into  line.  1  will  say, 
however,  iti  a  nulslieli,  liial  lliis  Stale  Temi)erance  Union  has  met  the  wislies. 
complied  with  liie  di-irch,  and  meets  the  demands,  of  llic  most  rigid  clniicli 
^people  in  the  Stale  thai  have  any  It  ini.lsliip  al  all  for  the  temperance  cause. 


ADDRESS   OF   REV.    P,    fOOMHE.  Gl 

They  say,  wiiliout  any  liesitation,  ymi  liiive  placed  tlic  Church  in  licr  proper 
position;  wo  are  now  willing  to  co-operate  in  the  temperance  reform  and 
take  our  place,  side  by  side,  with  these  other  societies,  because  we  can  do  it 
without  violating  our  conscience.  Tiie  result  is,  this  reconstruction  of  the 
temperance  cause  presents  an  open  front  to  the  Churcii,  and  constitutes  the 
Church  of  Jesus  Christ  to-diiy,  in  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  the  great  leader 
of  the  Temperance  reform. 

Now,  that  is  the  organization  of  the' Churches  and  their  combination  with 
the  Temperance  Societies  of  the  State.  In  other  words,  we  have  agreed,  my 
friends,  if  you  will  allow  me  to  speak  figuratively,  to  enter  into  the  bands  of 
matrimony,  as  temperance  societies,  and  there  is  no  power  on  earth  of  euffi- 
cicnt  influence  to  forbid  the  bands.  It  will  be  but  a  short  time  before  the 
Christian  denominations  of  this  State,  and  others,  will  stand,  side  by  side, 
with  the  temperance  society;  and,  forming  one  great  army,  directed  upon 
the  common  principle  of  having  a  diversify  of  forms  and  operation,  but  with 
one  common  head  and  object,  move  forward,  as  God's  sacramental  host,  to 
war  against  sin  and  darkness  in  the  liquor  traffic. 

Now,  the  necessity  for  this  Union  on  the  part  of  the  Church,  arose  from 
the  combination  of  the  liquor  organizations.  During  the  war  you  heard  a 
great  deal  about  the  "Whisky  King"  some  little,  also,  of  the  "Brewers' 
Association,"  but  you  heard  nothing  of  the  power  that  iniidels  had  in  this 
liquor  organization,  because  they  did  not  form  and  organize  until  IS'iT.  Af- 
ter the  war  was  over  and  the  reconstruction  of  tlie  temperance  cause  com- 
menced, somehow  or  other  these  liquor  organizations,  that  hitherto  had 
been  acting  separately  and  distinctly,  took  the  alarm.  They  went  to  work 
and  combined  their  organization  so  as  to  concentrate  their  power  for  the  con- 
trol of  the  Government  and  perpetuating  the  license  system  of  this  counli-y. 
The  Whisky  Ring  was  organized  after  the  following  manner:  First,  They 
have  divided  into  four  grand  societies, — one  located  at  New  Orleans,  one  at 
Chicago,  one  at  New  York,  and  one  at  Philadelphia.  Then  there  is  their 
general  organization.  I  cannot  stop  to  tell  you  why  they  have  divided, 
except  to  keep  from  dividing.  In  addition  to  these  four  general  societies, 
they  have  whisky  rings,  called  "Liberty  Leagues,"  in  every  city  in  these 
United  States:  and  the  Southern  State  Whisky  Ring,  being  auxiliary  to  the 
New  Orleans  Ring;  the  Western  State  Whisky  Ring,  auxiliary  to  the  Western 
Whisky  Ring  organization  at  Chicago;  the  Eastern  Whisky  Ring,  divided  in 
their  auxiliary  and  relationship  between  New  York  and  ThiladelpJiia,  aiul 
that  division  is  generally  regulated,  or  regulated  mostly  by  the  commercial 
and  business  relations  of  the  Eastern  Slates. 

Now,  these  are  the  general  and  State  organizations  for  the  Whisky  Ring. 
In  addition  to  that  they  have  a  whisky  ring  in  every  city,  borough,  and,  in 
many  instances,  in  every  ward  and  township.  This  is  the  Whisky  Ring  of 
which  all  of  you  have  heard  so  much  and  but  few  of  you  know  much. 

The  second  division  of  the  liquor  party  is  composed  of  the  '•  IJrewers'  As- 
sociation." They  had  had  a  Rrewers'  Association  for  several  years,  but  at 
the  close  of  the  war  they  baptized  and  gave  it  a  name,  and  called  it  "The 
Brewers'  Congress  of  the  United  States  of  America."     It  meets  cncc  a  year. 


62  MINUTES  OF  CONVENTIOX. 

They  have  resolved  to  have  their  organization,  first,  in  every  city  of  tliis 
Union;  second,  in  every  county  of  every  State.  And  these  three  forms  of 
organization  constitute  the  Brewers'  Congress. 

The  third  division  of  the  liquor  party  was  composed  and  set  oif  from  the 
rest  on  the  If.ih  of  August,  18G7,  at  Crosby's  Opera  House,  Chicago,  and  was 
composed  of  infidels  who  desire  to  make  an  open  and  unblushing  attack  on 
the  American  Sabbath.  This  was  immediately  after  the  adjournment  of  the 
Brewers'  Congress.  Most  of  them  are  members  of  both  the  Whisky  Ring 
and  the  Brewers'  Congress.  All  of  them  are  members  of  one  or  the  other, 
but  principally  of  the  Brewers'  Congress.  They  have  adopted  and  published 
a  platform,  which  platform  I  propose  to  read  to  you  presently :  and  I  call 
your  attention,  before  I  do  so,  to  this  fact :  You  will  find,  when  I  rc.ul  those 
platforms,  that  the  Whisky  Ring  and  Brewers'  Congress  have  a  common 
platform,  with  very  little  difference;  second,  that  the  Brewers'  Congress  and 
Whisky  Ring,  esptcially  the  former,  liave  agreed  to  unite  with  individuals  of 
this  country^for  the  overthrow  of  the  American  Sabbath,  and  have  engaged, 
upon  the  principle  of  bargain  and  sale,  that  if  the  infidels  will  unite  with 
them  to  oveillirow  the  Temperance  Reform,  they  will  unite  with  thorn  to 
overthrow  the  American  Sabbath.  You  will  find  their  platform  in  the  Re- 
port of  the  State  Temperance  Union,  page  G7.  (Here  Mr.  Coombe  read  the 
platforms  of  the  W^hisky  Ring,  and  Brewers'  Congress.) 

Now,  my  friends,  you  have  the  platform  of  the  Liquor  party,  their  organi- 
zation, and  the  combination  of  their  organizations,  and  the  present  aspect  of 
the  Temperance  cause  presents  simply  this  field  for  your  consideration.  la 
the  first  place,  the  liquor  organizations  are  united  and  bound  as  a  political 
organization  for  two  purposes:  first,  to  break  down  the  Temperance  cause 
by  perpetuating  the  license  system  in  tiiis  nation;  and,  secondly,  to  break 
down  and  destroy  and  overthrow  llio  American  Sabbath,— the  Sabbath  of 
our  fathers  and  of  our  God.  On  the  other  hand,  you  arc  tlie  churclies  of 
Jesus  Christ  resolving,  first  to  unite,  and,  second,  to  combine  witii  the  tem- 
perance societies.  That  work  of  union  is  now  going  on,  and  it  is  conducted 
principally  through  the  agency  and  instrumentality  of  the  Pennsylvania 
State  Temperance  Union;  aided  and  assisted  most  nobly  by  the  Good  Tem- 
plars, Sons  of  Temperance,  and  Temples  of  Ilonoi  and  Temperance.  We 
propose,  wlien  we  can  get  the  ciiurches  to  take  proper  ground  on  the  subject 
to  wliecl  into  line  alongside  tlie  temperance  organizations,  and  break  down 
the  license  system  and  destroy  all  legal  commerce  of  tlic  most  infernal  trallic 
that  ever  saw  the  light  of  the  sun. 

There  are  one  or  two  oilier  points  that  mark  tlic  history  of  the  prcFont, 
and  which,  if  I  were  not  afraid  of  transcending  my  lime,  I  would  like  to 
give  you.  I  will  refer  only  to  one.  .Since  the  close  of  the  war  the  liquor 
traflic  has  wonderfully  fallen  off.  The  number  of  distilleries  has  decreased 
about  one  h  ilf.  The  trade  has  fallen  off  about  one-half.  It  is  almost  im- 
po.Msible  now  to  gel,  in  any  decent  communiiy,  twelve  men  to  sign  a  liquor 
applicuiion.  The  tavern  keepers  are  advertising  their  property  for  sale, 
to  an  exicnt  never  known  before  in  I  he  liiM-.ry  of  the  American  ]. enisle. 
The  courts,  as  a  general  thing,  throughout  "ur  Slate,  are  taking  this  ground 


ADDRESS   OF   REV.    P.    fOOMRE.  63 

— that,  if  the  people  will  rcmons(ralc,  no  license  shall  be  grantci],  in  par- 
ticular places.  In  Indiana  and  Jetlerson  Counties  the  judges  have  put  their 
heads  togolher,  and,  in  npitc  of  (lie  liquor  sellere,  and  tveryiliing  else,  have 
abulislied  the  whole  license  system  ;  and  there  is  not  a  single  licensed  grog- 
shop in  cither  of  tliose  counties;  and  that,  too,  by  the  action  of  the  courts. 
Since  the  first  day  of  January,  1870,  to  the  sixteenth  of  this  month,  I  liavc 
been  in  one  hundred  and  thirty-eight  towns  and  villages.  Tliese  are  distri- 
buted among  sixteen  countifs.  In  those  one  hundred  and  tliirty-eight  towns 
and  villages  there  are  but  forty-nine  that  have  a  licensed  grog-shop.  The 
balance  of  them  are  either  protected  by  local  prohibitory  laws,  or  license  is 
abolished  by  t'  e  action  of  the  people  and  the  decisions  of  the  courts.  But 
the  most  significant  fact  that  connects  itself  witli  ihe  present  history  of  the 
Temperance  cause  is  the  demoralization,  if  not  destruction,  of  tiie  Whisky 
Ring.  At  the  close  of  the  last  Administration,  of  the  General  Government, 
the  Whisky  Ring  had  the  reins  of  the  government  so  far  in  its  hands  as  to 
break  down  our  revenue  system  ;  or,  in  other  words,  to  prevent  the  collec- 
tion of  the  tax  on  whisky.  Secretary  Welles  tells  us,  in  a  foot  note,  that 
Ihe  governnient  collected  only  one  dollar  where  it  ought  to  have  collected 
eight.  The  Xeiv  York  World  says  that  $180,000,000  that  year  went  into  the 
pocket  of  the  Whisky  Ring.  When  the  present  administration  came  into 
power  they  determined  to  break  down  the  power  of  this  Whisky  Ring,  not 
on  temperance  principles,  but  national  safety  and  policy.  They  went  to 
work,  first,  to  enforce  the  laws  already  in  existence,  They  caught  the  men 
who  were  cheating  the  revenue,  tried  them,  convicted  them,  lined  them,  and 
ra  prisoned  them. 

The  government  farther  adopted  this  policy.  They  first  reduced  the  tax 
on  whisky  from  two  dollars,  to  fifty  cents,  in  oider  to  leave  the  whisky 
men  without  excuse.  Their  plea  was  that  the  tax  was  so  heavy  they  had  to 
defraud  the  goverment ;  and  under  that  reduced  duty,  they  adopted  farther 
stringent  measures,  one  of  which  is  sufficient  everlastingly  to  damn  the 
whole  business;  that  is,  they  fastened  on  every  distiller  a  government  detec- 
tive, who  was  to  watch  the  distillery,  which  was  compelled  to  pay  his  salary. 
Such  a  thing  had  never  been  known  in  the  history  of  the  civilized  world; 
and  that,  in  itself,  was  sufficient  to  break  down  the  whole  history  of  the 
business  as  a  manufacture. 

In  the  second  place,  they  went  to  work  to  execute  those  laws  and  enforce 
the  revenue.  They  soon  compelled  the  larger  dealers  in  Ihe  wliisky  busi- 
ness to  pay  the  duty,  and  they  resolved  if  thej  could  not  cheat  the  govern- 
ment nobody  else  should.  Tiiey  called  conventions,  the  object  of  which  was 
to  break  down  the  little  distillers  and  wealthy  capitalists,  designing  to  get 
the  arrangement  in  their  hands  so  as  to  corner  the  market  when  they  pleased. 
The  little  dealers,  not  being  able  to  hold  on,  sold  whenever  they  had  a  gooil 
chance  ;  and  now  they  adopted  a  policy  to  increase  the  whisky  duties,  se- 
condly, by  buying  grain,  as  far  as  they  were  able,  with  mouthy  ;  then  the}' 
borrowed  money,  loaded  down  the  distilleries  with  grain,  nianufaclured 
whisky,  and  have  to-day  got  a  larger  stock  of  whisky  than  was  ever  known 
in  the  history  of  the  Un'ted.  States.     There  is  nol  a  distillery  in  the  nation 


64  MINUTES   OF   CONVENTION. 

to-Jay  tliat  has  not  a  larger  stock  than  ever  before.  The  object  of  that  wa 
tliis.  If  they  could  get  an  increase  on  the  duty  on  whisky  they  could  fill 
their  pockets  by  a  rise  in  price;  therefore  tliey  manufactured  \v]ii;-ky,  put 
it  in  store-houses,  paid  the  old  duty  and  waited  for  the  issue.  Thoy  went 
to  Congress  and  Congress  refused  to  increase  the  tax.  Whether  they  under- 
stood the  plan  or  not  I  do  not  know,  but  God  did,  and  the  wicked  were 
snared  in  their  own  net.  They  went  home  with  the  little  whisky  dealers 
jubilant.  The  banks,  getting  alarmed,  refusad  to  leml  them  money,  and  the 
whisky  distillers  all  over  this  country,  are  going  about  begging  for  money 
offering  twelve  to  fifteen  per  cent.  I  know  these  things  to  be  facts.  The 
result  of  this  state  of  things  is,  there  is  scarcely  a  large  distillery  in  this  na- 
tion in  operation.  Under  this  system,  whisky  has  fallen,  the  back  of  the 
■Whisky   Ring   is    broken,  and   it  has  sunk  in   anathema   to   rise   no    more 

forever. 

The  future  of  the  Temperance  cause  is  in  the  hands  of  the  church,  and 
it  is  to  be  just  what  the  church  will  make  it.  The  temperance  societies 
have  discovered  that  it  is  utterly  impossible  for  them  to  conclude  this  re- 
formation without  the  church:  they  have  therefore  granted  what  tlio  church 
claim.  You  who  are  familiar  with  the  progress  of  the  history  of  the  Tempe- 
rance cause  must  remember  this  fact.  All  along  the  line  of  progress,  espc- 
cially  of  the  last  twenty-five  years,  a  large  proportion  of  Christian  people 
have  claimed  that  the  temperance  societies  were  taking  the  work  out  of  their 
hands.  That  they  were  God's  own  appointed  agency  for  the  reforin;ition, 
as  well  as  the  salvation  of  men,  and  tliat  when  you  substituted  the  Temper- 
ance Society  for  tlie  church  in  this  work  you  retlected  upon  the  latter,  and 
said,  it  was  not  equal  to  the  work.  The  Christian  Church,  tlierefore,  claim 
the  leadership  in  tliis  cause.  Sccomlly,  Temperance  Societies  have  granted 
that  claim;  and  say  to  thechurch,  Now  take  the  arrangement  in  your  hands. 
We  acknowledge  you  as  God's  grand  agency,  not  only  for  the  salvation,  but 
the  reformaiiun  of  men.  Take  your  proper  position  in  the  fore-front,  lead 
on  the  battle,  and  we  will  follow  you  to  victory. 

In  llie  third  place,  the  world  requires  the  Church  to  take  this  position.  In 
passing  over  your  city  no  one  fact  struck  me  witli  nnu-e  furcc  than  the  ile- 
mand  of  the  world  upon  the  Cliurch.  Now  I  don't  want  to  say  anything  re- 
flecting upou  the  Cliurch,  but  I  must  b.;  allowed  to  tell  the  truth.  The  lr\ith 
is  this:  .Men  and  women,  not  members  of  the  ('hurch,  and  no  faultfinders 
and  censurers  of  the  Chureh,  none  of  your  sore  heads,  hul  nu'n  of  intclli- 
gonce  and  standing,  of  wealth  and  refinement  and  character,  say  to  me,  all 
over  this  State,  "Mr.  Coombe,  the  only  thing  that  hinders  >is,  is  want  of  ac- 
tivity and  zeal  on  the  part  of  the  Churches.  Now  while  your  temperance  so- 
ciety   is  supported   mainly   by  ihIumw  and   ministers  of  the  (^lurches,   your 

Churches  cHicially  are  not  <loing  their  duty;  and  you  know  it  as  well  as  we 
Clin  lidl  you."  Tlier(!forc  tlic  whole  r(!>iponsibility  is  thrown  upon  the  Chris- 
tian Chtirclies.  'I'lie  temperance  societies  admit  they  iiave  about  worked  up 
their  nilHsion,  ami  eall  upon  the  Church  to  help  them.  They  aie  waiting 
therefore  nio«t  anxiously  and  patieiilly,  with  highest  expectations  of  success, 
for  the  Cliurch    to  take  its   jiropiM-  position,  and    all   that  renuxins   is   for  the 


ADDRESS   OF    REV.    P.    COOMBE.  65 

Churcb,  officially  and  ecclesiastically,  to  say,  the  Temperance  cause  is  ours. 
We  will  maintain,  sustain,  and  carry  it  out :  and  when  the  Cliurches  take  that 
position  the  question  is  settled.  Let  the  Cliurches  anci  Temperance  Societies 
unite  in  this  grand  work  and  the  combined  and  concentrated  power  of  whisky 
falls — falls  to  rise  no  more. 

In  passing  through  Washington  County,  I  came  across  the  Hon.  Lawrence 
T.  Wolf.  When  he  listened  to  me  in  Monongahela,  explaining  our  plans  and 
describing  our  future  work,  he  said,  "You  have  hit  the  nail  on  the  head. 
Let  the  Churches  unite  with  Temperance  Societies,  and  Whiskyism  has  gone 
up.  The  Legislature  will  listen  to  you,  the  Courts  will  listen  to  you,  and 
politicians  will  listen  to  you.  To-day  the  whole  liquor  party  tremble  in  their 
boots,  because  the  Church  is  coming  up  to  the  help  of  the  Lord  against  the 
mighty  as  never  before."  Now,  there  is  where  we  are;  and  if  the  ministers 
and  the  membership  of  the  Methodist  Church  are  true  to  the  teaching  of 
Wesley  we  shall  rally  around  the  Temperance  cause.  We  shall  take  the  Tem- 
perance Society  to  our  bosom,  and,  in  a  short  time,  will  stand  on  the  grave 
of  the  liquor  traffic  and  deliver  it  to  the  Sadducees,  with  whom  there  is  no 
resurrection.  The  future  is  in  your  hands.  May  God  help  you  to  meet  the 
responsibility. 

Now  a  word  or  two  in  conclusion.  First,  the  great  need  of  the  Tempe- 
rance Society  to-day  in  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  is  money,  and  if  you  will 
allow  me  to  be  a  little  personal,  I  want  to  make  a  personal  appeal.  I  stand 
before  you  as  a  member  of  the  Philadelphia  Conference.  In  18o4,  Matthew 
Serin  wrote  me  a  letter.  I  was  then  a  merchant.  He  wrote  me  of  a  vacancy 
in  Elkton,  and  said,  Now,  if  your  warm  heart  says,  "Lord,  what  shall  I  do?' 
I  say,  look  around.  "  The  fields  are  already  white  to  the  harvest."  I  gave 
up  my  store,  sacrificed  my  business,  changed  my  whole  life,  and  from  1834 
to  this  hour  have  devoted  myself  to  the  interests  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  within  the  bounds  of  the  Philadelphia  Conference.  I  will  not  refer 
to  the  positions  I  have  occupied.  Now,  where  and  what  am  I  to-night?  An 
old  Methodist  preacher,  going  on  sixty  years  of  age,  and  arrived  at  that  time 
of  life  when  I  ought  to  be  with  my  family  and  enjoying  comfort  and  peace; 
but  instead  of  that,  two  j-ears  and  seven  months  ago  the  Church  of  Jesus 
Christ,  which  I  joined  over  forty  years  ago,  said,  '  Coombe,  you  are  the  nianfor 
this  work,"  and  forced  me  out  against  my  consent;  and  since  that  day  I  have 
been  a  wandering  pilgrim,  without  house  or  home.  I  returned  only  yester- 
day morning  from  a  trip  of  four  mordhs,  lacking  three  days,  during  which 
time  I  never  saw  my  family.  I  have  traveled  the  whole  ground,  have  talked 
five  hundred  and  twenty-seven  hours — what  for  ?  To  save  your  children  from 
destruction  and    the  Church  and  Society  from  the  evils  of  the  liquor  traffic. 

Now  I  am  doing  a  work  that  no  mortal  man  can  stand.  And  why?  Simply 
because  you  laymen — I  can't  say  preachers,  for  they  have  not  the  money — 
but  you  laymen  in  the  Methodist  Church,  and  others,  have  not  furnished  us 
with  the  funds  to  put  another  man  alongside  of  me.  Now  do  you  want  to 
murder  Pennel  Coombe?  If  not,  I  ask  you  then  to  take  the  claims  of  tlie 
Association,  which  I  represent,  into  consideration,  and  furnish  the  money. 
We  have  plenty  of  men  of  ability  who  will  go  out  if  we  can  secure  the  money 

5 


66  MINUTES   OF   COlSrV^ENTION. 

for  their  support.      I  want  the  laymen  of  the  Methodist  Church  in  this  State 
to  show  their  liberality  by  furnishing  their  proportion  of  the  funds. 

Now,  brethren,  may  God  bless  you!  I  feel  happy  to-night.  You  don't 
know  how  happy  my  old  heart  is.  I  have  got  to  the  top  of  the  mountain  and 
see  the  promised  land  on  the  other  side.  The  Whisky  Ring  is  broken,  and 
the  whole  thing  running  down.  It  will  be  but  a  few  years  when  I  hope  to 
preach  its  funeral  sermon  and  die  a  happy  man.  Now  will  you  help  us  on  in 
our  work' 

A  protracted  discussion  followed  the  delivery  of  the  above 
address.     The  first  speaker  was 

Frederick  Schluemback — Mr.  President,  Christian  Friends  and  Fellow 
Delegates  of  the  Cotivention:  It  surely  will  not  be  expected  that  I  should  de- 
fend intemperance,  when  I  rise  here,  for  a  man  who  has  tested  the  evil,  who 
has  been  under  that  banishment  of  the  devil  himself,  cannot  defend  it  after 
being  cured;  so  I  can  not  say  one  word  against  the  noble  appeal  to  which  you 
have  listened  from  my  brother.  But  one  little  thing  I  have  to  remark  before 
I  go  further,  is,  the  attack  on  the  Geraian  Sabbath-day.  I  don't  like  to  see 
it  stand  on  record  in  the  way  in  which  it  is  given,  for  I  believe  the  brother 
who  made  the  attack  heard  or  read  that  account  of  the  German  Sabbath  from 
drunken  friends  abroad,  for  he  surely  has  never  been  there  and  seen  what  he 
pretends  to  say  here.  I  do  not  want  to  attack  the  brother  at  all,  but  my 
heart  should  surely  respect  tlie  place  where  the  cradle  stood  ;  the  place  where 
I  heard  for  the  tirst  time  from  my  dear  mother's  lips  the  name  of  Jesus; 
where  I  many  a  Sabbath-day  have  sat  under  the  pulpit  listening  to  the  glo- 
rious news  of  salvation,  on  Sabbath-days,  just  as  quiet,  just  as  beautiful  and 
lovely  as  I  enjoy  them  now  in  this  country.  Therefore,  I  say  you  go  too  fast 
if  you  attack  tlie  German  Sabbath  and  tiie  German  nationality  turoiigh  the 
Temperance  cause. 

And  now  I  say,  if  this  appeal  were  made  to  us  in  the  shape  of  running 
armies,  if  this  question  of  temperance  and  intemperance  would  have  to  be 
fought  out  witli  needle  guns  and  chassepots,  I  would  be  the  iirst  man  to  en- 
ter my  name  on  tlie  list  of  temperance ;  lint  lliank  the  Lord,  tlii.s  (lueslion  is 
one  of  plain  discussion,  and  is  to  be  decided  on  the  side  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Ciiurch  under  the  guidance  of  our  Lord  and  Master  Jesus  Clirist ; 
and  he  says,  "The  best  of  all  is  cliarit^."      "  Love  one  anoliuu-." 

I  will  only  try  to-night,  in  my  humble  and  weak  way,  to  illustrate  tlie 
cause  of  intemperance  and  the  cure  which  I  think  ouglit  to  be  applied,  as  fur 
as  it  goes,  to  the  German  class  of  our  country.  You,  surely,  will  know  how 
to  attack  ami  beat  the  enemy  on  the  American  side  of  tlie  house;  I,  as  an 
old  warrior  in  intemperance,  on  the  German  side,  and  to  do  this  we  have  got 
to  stand  and  argue  from  one  point  where  we  all  stand,  saint  and  sinner. 
This  point  is,  all, — those  who  use  intoxicating  drinks,  as  well  as  we  who 
abstain  from  them — agree  on  one  point,  that  intemi)erance  is  the  greatest 
evil  of  the  present  age.     This  is  acknowledged  in  every  lager  beer  saloon. 

Now  who  oii^ht  to  fight  intemperance;  who  can  stand  it?     Who  can  all'ord 


ADDRESS  OF  FREDERICK  SCHLUEMBACK  ESQ.  76 

it?  I  will  follow  our  beloved  Bishop  in  his  method,  and  say  first  who  can- 
not afford  to  fight  intemperance?  And,  first,  political  parties  cannot.  If  we 
wait  for  thera,  we  shall  have  to  wait  a  very  long  while.  TIkmi,  a  great  many 
of  the  Churches  of  ditl'ereat  denominations  cannot  afford  to  do  it.  They  will 
surely  say  that  intemperance  is  an  evil,  but  they  do  nothing,  liut  I  know 
that  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  the  United  States  can  aflord  to  fight 
intemperance,  and  will  fight  it.  Permit  me  to  say  now  how  I  would  like  to 
fight,  and  actually  do  fight  it.  And  first  of  all,  1  fight  intemperance  by  love. 
Why?  Because  I  take  the  retrospect.  I,  through  moderate  drinking,  be- 
came an  immoderate  drinker,  and  actually  stood  on  a  drunkard's  grave,  sick, 
worn  down  ;  but  I  thank  the  Lord,  to-night,  and  shall  through  all  my  life,  that 
one  good  Methodist  sister  and  brother  stepped  up  to  me  one  day,  not  quite 
two  years  ago,  and  in  kindness  and  love,  their  arguments,  so  like  a  father's 
and  mother's,  saved  me  from  destruction  and  placed  me  under  the  guidance 
of  the  Lord  and  made  me  what  I  am  to-day.  Therefore  I  like  to  follow  their 
example,  believing  that  the  same  kindness  and  love  that  saved  me  will  save 
others.  I  say,  go  among  them,  argue  with  them;  don't  pass  them  by  and 
say  because  they  are  Germans  they  are  joined  to  their  idols.  I  can  assure 
you,  my  Christian  friends  and  brethren,  that  in  Germany  intemperance  is  a 

ticket  of  leave;    it  excludes  from  good  society.     If  to-day  all  the  Germans 

now  I  speak  especially  for  them— if  to-day  all  the  Germans  in  the  city  of 
Philadelphia  were  to  know  that  word  of  tJieir  conduct  would  be  sent  home  to 
their  parents  and  relatives,  they  would  slied  bitter  tears  of  repentance,  for 
they  would  know  that  at  home  there  ivould  be  great  sorrow.  I  say,  go  and 
try  to  lift  up  more  of  my  countrymen  by  making  intemperance  a  ticket  of 
leave  for  every  man,  giving  him  a  ticket  to  go  right  out  of  good  society.  Of- 
tentimes, to  my  own  knowledge,  intemperance  is  not  a  curse  among  the  low 
only,  but  among  the  better  class  and  those  who  profess  religion.  I  know 
many  cases  of  prominent  men  who  rolled  in  the  gutter,  and  were  carried 
home  drunk  to  their  families,  and  the  next  Sabbath-day  I  have  seen  them  at 
Church.  0  my  friends,  if  you  come  to  this  standard,  that  every  man  who 
drinks  shall  be  excluded  from  your  presence,  then  the  cause  of  temperance 
will  soon  triumph.  Prohibitory  laws  are  good,  yet  unless  enforced  they  are 
useless,  but  tLe  power  of  kindness  will  conquer.  I  know  this  from  expe- 
rience. Kindness  and  love  go  farther  than  law.  I  lived  under  the  tem- 
perance law  and  drank  more  than  when  there  was  no  sucli  law,  but  love 
saved  me;  therefore  I  say,  fight  against  the  evil  of  intemperance  with  love; 
use  the  arguments  God  has  given  in  liis  own  good  book,  and  when  you  meet 
again  in  a  Methodist  State  Convention  you  will  know  that  these  few  re- 
marks, feeble  as  they  are,  have  some  truth  in  them. 

Judge  McCalmont. — I  presume  that  I  was  not  placed  upon  this  Commit- 
tee because  the  subject  was  familiar  to  me,  or  that  I  had  devoted  to  it  much 
time,  but  I  presume  it  was  merely  because  I  was  connected  with  the  Metho- 
dist Church  in  the  western  part  of  the  State,  and  that  it  was  deemed  proper 
by  the  gentlemen  here  present  at  the  time  of  appointing  the  Committee  to 
honor  that  part  of  the  State  with  a  representative.  But  I  have  listened  with 
nterest  to  the  remarks  of  my  friend  who  is  on  the  Committee,  and  who  is  so 


68  MINUTES  OF  CONVENTION. 

prominently  identified  with  the  temperance  organization,  and  although  I  may 
be  considered,   sometimes,  an  extremist,   yet  there  were  some  things  in  the 
report- that  seemed  extreme  to  me;  but  I  concluded  at  once,  to  waive  all  ob- 
jection to  these,  and  allow  them  to  go  before  the  Convention,   because  they 
were  in  substance  right,  and   I    coincide  with  my  brother  in  his  views  about 
the  duty  of  ministers  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.     There  are  partic- 
ular times,  and  have  been  in  the  history  of  the  Church  from  the  beginning, 
when  certain  crimes  are  more  rampant   than  others,  and  when  they  seem  to 
over-awe  everything  and  beat  down  all  barriers,  and  when  it  is  the  duty  of 
ministers  and  of  the  Church,  to  stand  up  and  denounce  them.     1   do  not  say 
they  have  been  remiss  on  this  subject,  but  I  say  it  is  necessary  to  uphold 
their  hands  in  this  matter.     And  I  will  not  say  there  are  not  mysteries  con- 
nected  with   the   subject.     I  have  looked  upon  it  and  have  studied  it  as  a 
great  mystery.     Men  seem  unable  to  control  their  appetites,  and  are  led  to 
such  extremes   that  they  debase  and  ruin  themselves,  and  bring   ruin   upon 
their  families  and  friends.     While  the  brother  who   preceded  me  was  speak- 
ing, I  could  not  help  thinking  it  is  not  the  Germans  alone  that  intemperance 
is  destroying;  it  is  the  flower  of  the  American  youth;  it  is  the  bright,  beauti- 
ful lads  at  our  schools,  despite  all  the  teachings  of  parental  afteetion  and  all 
the  restraints  that  can  be  thrown  around  them.     Upon  every  hand  tempta- 
tion meets  them,  and  the  law  sanctions  the  placing  of  temptation   in   their 
way.     Now,  I  am  in  favor  of  women   being  kept  in  their  proper  sphere;  I 
love  the  words  mother,  sister,  daughter,  but  if  there  is  anything  that  would 
make  me  favor  bringing  them  into  public  notice  it  is  that  tbcy  should  have 
the  right  of  suft'rage  on  this  temperance  question.     And  when  we  look  at  it, 
80  far  as  that  is  concerned,  what  is  there  in    it,    why  men  should  regard   it 
as  such  a  terrible  thing  for  women  to  deposit  a  ballot  ?     Who  has  such  inte- 
rests at  stake  in  this  question  as  woman,  and  why  should  she  not  be  permit- 
ted to  express  her  wishes  by  depositing  her  ballot?     Now  1  am  not  here  to 
advocate  this  matter,  but  I  simply  throw  it  out,  and  I  say,  if  women  can't  vote 
they  should  at  least    cast   all  their  influence  against  this  monster  evil;  they 
should  nuike  it  known  tliat  they  are  determined   to  press  it,  and  that  if  men 
want  to  prevent  them  from  voting  they  must  assist  them  in  carrying  out  llu-ir 
▼iews.     It  needs  a  little  more  for  this.  Our  children  arc  dependent  upon  you, 
and  when  you  come  to  ask  them  about   it,  why  they  arc   taught  at   the  com- 
mencement of  their  education,  and  the  most  iiiiporlaiit  ]iart  of  it,  how  defec- 
tive they  are  in  their  knowledge  of  governmental  duties,  how  ilcfoctivi"  in  llicir 
knowledge  of  their  po.-iition  with  reference  to  the  Church  and  State. 

Now  I  do  not  believe  in  this  (^)iiv(Milion  iiaving  anything  to  do  with  any 
political  party,  but  I  do  believe  we  should  cc-oporalo  with  every  Christian 
church  and  all  good  citizens,  in  voting  for  men  of  good  moral  character.  1 
doMl  believe  in  being  made  the  foot-ball  of  politicians,  and  using  the  Cliurch 
to  elect  a  certain  candidate,  or  promote  tiie  inlerostsof  a  particular  party, 
but  I  believe  in  standing  fast  by  our  principles  and  in  our  enforcing  them  by 
our  voles.  Tiicre  may  be  little  expressions,  hero  and  lliere,  wliich  maybe 
considered  extreme,  yet  it  will  be  found  that  they  are  the  sense  of  this  Con- 
vention,  and   that  as  you  call  them   out  you  will  see    it   is  almost   impossi- 


ADDRESS  OF  DR.  PARRISH.  69 

ble,  in  the  short  time  we  have,  to  give  effective  expression  to  the  sentiments 
that  are  not  well  matured.  And  in  this  connection  I  am  pleased  to  say  that 
that  essay  we  heard  this  morning,  like  many  others  from  the  same  source,  is 
a  most  finished  production,  and  will  stand  the  test  of  criticism  everywhere, 
not  only  among  Methodists,  but  all  denominations. 

Joseph  Parrish,  M.  D. — I  rise  to  say  but  a  very  few  words.  I  have  sat 
with  the  rest  of  you,  during  this  entire  session,  listeningto  find  what  the  church 
can  do.  I  was  interested  in  the  elaborate  report  of  the  doings  of  the  State  Tem- 
perance Union,  and  I  was  a  little  more  interested  in  the  inspired  speech  of 
our  German  friend.  I  am  not  a  believer,  as  the  Judge  is  not — and  I  am  very 
happy  to  have  such  good  authority — in  political  action,  that  is,  distinct  and 
separate.  I  am  a  believer  in  the  power  and  efficiency  of  the  Gospel,  which 
we  profess,  and  I  believe  that  when  we  put  that  into  practical  effect,  apply- 
ing it  to  drunkards,  and  to  drunkard-makers,  if  you  so  please  to  call  tliem, 
that  we  will,  by  personal  effort,  hard  labor,  and  active  exertion,  accomplish 
a  great  deal  more  good  than  we  have  hitherto  accomplished. 

Another  thing  I  would  like  to  suggest  to  our  friends.  I  think  we  mistake, 
to  a  very  large  extent,  the  real  causes  of  this  evil.  We  are  very  apt  to  seize 
upon  the  nearest  and  most  palpable  exhibitions  of  the  evil,  and  associate 
them  with  the  most  direct  and  immediately  apparent  causes,  and  think  we 
have  found  out  the  true  relation  between  cause  and  effect.  But  I  think  we 
shall  have  to  go  very  far  back  of  the  dram-shop,  far  back  of  the  habit  of 
moderate  drinking,  if  you  please,  in  order  to  find  the  cause  of  drunkenness. 
I  wish  we  had  time  to-night  to  discuss  among,  ourselves,  this  question.  The 
dram-shop  is  the  temptation  in  the  way  of  the  unwary,  the  foot-fall  in  the 
path  of  the  weak,  but  it  is  not,  in  any  philosophical  sense,  a  cause  of  intem- 
perance with  which  we  ought  to  contend  originally  :  we  must  go  back 
to  the  constitutions  of  men  to  demonstrate  that  they  came  into  existence  with 
depraved  physical  natures  very  often.  Let  the  ministers  and  members  of  the 
Church,  who  are  inspired  with  a  true  sense  of  the  Gospel  they  profess,  take 
hold  of  them,  inspired  with  love,  as  our  German  friend  has  observed.  If  there 
are  thirty  thousand  temperance  men  in  Pennsylvania  to-night,  men  pledged 
to  abstain  from  all  that  intoxicates,  themselves,  and  they  use  all  their  influence 
to  have  others  do  the  same,  I  say  there  can  be  no  tfuth  in  the  Bible  we  be- 
lieve, no  truth  in  the  Gospel  we  preach,  no  validity  in  the  promises  of  God, 
if  those  thirty  thousand  men  and  women,  each  one  of  them,  fix  their  mind 
and  heart,  and  prayers  and  labors  upon  a  drunkard  and  arum-seller,  and  go 
to  work  in  the  spirit  of  faith,  and  thirty  thousand  drunkards  and  rum- 
sellers  are  not  converted  during  the  year.  But  we  have  not  courage,  we 
have  not  faith  enough,  to  go  out  and  face  the  enemy.  It  is  a  very  easy 
thing  in  a  temperance  meeting,  and  in  Conventions  like  this,  to  pass  resolu- 
tions and  indulge  in  large  platitudes  that  sound  magnificent,  but  a  very  hard 
thing,  sometimes,  to  make  personal  sacrifices,  to  go  into  dram-shops,  to  sit 
down  by  the  drunka.rd  and  do  his  heart  and  soul  good. 

I  would  speak  longer,  but  others  desire  to  say  something  on  this  subject, 
and  I  want  to  impress  upon  you  the  thought  that  the  real  cause  of  intempe- 
rance lies  back  of  the  apparent  cause,  and  that  legislation  will  not  reach  it; 


70  MINUTES   OF  CONA^'ENTION. 

it  can  be  reached  only  in  the  way  I  have  suggested.  Take  the  thought  with 
you,  and  if  it  is  good  for  anything,  practice  it ;  and,  if  we  come  together  an- 
other year,  and  temperance  societies  will  labor  for  the  reformation  of  the 
drunkard,  we  will  have  accomplished  a  good  work. 

James  Black,  Esq. — Brethren  of  the  Convention  :  A  few  years  since,  at  the 
opening  or  dedication  of  an  inebriate  asylum,  in  the  town  of  Binghampton, 
N.  Y.,  Dr.  Valentine  Mott,  in  reply  to  a  theory  very  common  in  our  land, 
and  which  has  been  preached  here  to-night,  at  least  in  spirit,  replied  that 
the  fact  was,  mania  a  potu  is  traceable  to  the  fact  that  the  poison  of  alcohol 
had  deteriorated  the  stamina  of  the  people.  I  hold  in  my  hand  a  verbal, 
and,  to  me,  an  exceedingly  interesting  and  teachable  document,  called  the 
Report  of  the  Citizens'  Association  of  Pennsylvania  for  the  year  1808,  made 
to  the  Legislature,  upon  the  Dependent  Criminal  Population  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  I  have  the  honor  to  inform  those  who  do  not  know,  that  our  friend  and 
brother  Parrish  is  president  of  this  Association.  This  institution  was  char- 
tered by  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  for  the  purpose  of  laying  before  the 
honorable  bodies  of  the  Legislature  the  dependent  and  criminal  population 
of  the  State. 

And  if  you  will  pardon  me,  for  a  moment,  I  desire  to  lay  before  you  some 
facts  contained  in  this  report,  that  are  the  biisis  of  my  opposition  to  the 
liquor  traific,  the  basis  of  Christian  cft'ort  in  that  direction  for  reform  and 
remedy.  In  addition  to  the  fact  tlmt  three-fourths  of  the  poor  uained  here 
were  made  so  by  strong  drink,  one-third  of  the  insane  are  victims  of  drink. 
These  facts  are  officially  given,  and  printed  by  the  Legislature,  for  the 
people. 

I  regret  very  much  to  see  that  the  title  and  objects  of  this  Association  are 
largely  changed,  owing  to  the  views  entertained  possibly  by  misled  friends. 
But  with  reference  to  the  insane  the  proportion  attributed  to  intemperance 
is  about  one-third.  The  intemperance  of  one  or  both  parents  is  sujiposed  to 
be  the  cause  of  one-third  of  the  cases  of  idiocy.  Not  less  than  ono-third  of 
the  cases  of  deaf  mutes  is  traceable  to  the  same  cause.  About  one-third  of 
the  cases  of  blindness  owe  their  infirmity  to  intemperate  parentage.  ,Two- 
thirds  of  the  inmates  of  our  Houses  of  Refuge  are  children  of  intemperate 
parents.  Two-thirds  of  the  pauperism  and  crime  of  the  State  are  chargeable 
to  intemperance.  The  aggregate  cost  of  maintaining  those  whosa condition 
is  due  to  intemperance  is  $  '2,'2i)'.\'.y\0  per  annum. 

It  is  a  sad  and  lamentable  fact  to  learn  of  tiic  misery  caused  by  drink  ;  it 
is  a  sad  ainl  Innientiiljlc  fact  to  know  tliat  tlie  peace  of  homes  is  destroyed  by 
drink;  to  know  that  men  are  carrieil  down  to  a  drunkard's  hell,  even  from 
tii(!  cliurcli  ;  tliatihe  hopes  that  budded  at  God's  altar  are  blighted  by  tiiis 
terrible  evil ;  that  your  sons,  whom  you  liave  trained  with  care,  and  toiled  by 
day  and  by  night  in  order  to  give  ihcm  the  best  intellectual  ;iiid  moral  cul- 
ture-, are  in  danger  of  being  destroyed  boily  and  soul  l)y  this  vice;  to  consiijer 
lliatthe  daughter  whom  you  have  given  to  a  young  man  wiiose  cliaraeler  and 
prospects  inet  with  your  best  aj)probalion,  may  come  homo  in  a  very  few 
years  with  life's  hopes  wrecked,  with  nil  luitii  in  (iod  and  man  shaken;  it  is 
a  more  serioua  fact  to  remember  that  the  sluniina,  the  vital   power  of  i-esist- 


ADDRESS   OF   JAMES   BLACK,    ESQ.  71 

ancc  of  our  people,  as  a  nation,  is  being  sapped  by  the  terrible  power  of 
drink. 

Brethren,  please  remember,  and  as  Christian  friends  and  teaciiers  ever  im- 
press it  upon  others,  that  alcohol  is  a  poison  for  ever  at  war  with  man's  na- 
ture ;  that  it  is  a  poison  just  as  much  as  ciiloroform,  strychnine,  or  arsenic, 
and  that  there  is  no  definition  of  a  poison  that  does  not  equally  apply  to  and 
include  alcohol  ;  please  remember  that  tliis  is  a  scientific  truth,  ami  can  be 
scientifically  demonstrated;  also  remember  that  it  is  carrying  thousands 
and  tens  of  thousands  annually  to  the  grave.  Physicians  all  acknowledge 
this.  Then  tlie  quibbles  as  to  what  God  may  say,  what  revelation  may 
say,  must  all  be  resolved  by  this  great  fact.  God  cannot  speak  one  thing 
in  nature  and  another  in  revelation.  Nature  says  it  is  a  poison  ;  and  ilie 
only  safe  rule  for  anybody  is,  to  let  poison  alone.  If  you  concede  that 
alcohol  is  a  poison,  then  the  traffic  in  that  poison  is  a  great  sin — a  crime 
of  the  greatest  magnitude  and  enormity.  Don't  say  to  me  it  is  honorable, 
and  protect  it  by  law.  Please  remember  slavery  a  short  time  ago  was 
considered  honorable,  and  was  protected  by  law,  but  was  it  therefore  right 
in  the  sight  of  God  and  the  conscience  of  men?  Please  remember  that  the 
traffic  in  opium  has  long  been  protected  in  China  and  India,  but  because  it 
is  protected  is  it  therefore  right  in  the  sight  of  God  and  in  the  judgment  of 
men?  Please  remember  that  but  a  few  years  ago  lotteries  were  protected 
by  law,  and  when  victims  were  injured  and  ruined  by  it,  did  that  make  the 
wrong  right?  And  if  these  things  are  wrong  and  cannot  be  made  right, 
neither  can  the  liquor  traffic,  if  it  takes  away  our  moral  power,  destroys  our 
intellect,  ruins  our  fathers  and  husbands  and  sons,  be  made  right,  though 
sanctioned  by  legislatures. 

If  it  is  a  poison,  and  the  traffic  in  it  a  social  crime,  then  what  is  neces- 
sary ?  I  answer,  total  abstinence  for  the  individual,  and  prohibition  b;/  the  Stale. 
There  can  be  no  compromise  here.  Understand  the  fundamental  principles, 
and  there  can  be  no  shifting  this  platform.  You  cannot  change  God's 
eternal  truth  to  please  you  and  me.  If  we  fail  to  discharge  our  duty,  then, 
when  the  victims  of  intemperance  come  up  at  the  Judgment,  they  may  say: 
"It  is  because  of  your  unfaithfulness  that  I  am  here."  Think  of  it  in  this 
aspect  and  see  how  your  influence  ought  to  be  cast.  I  am  out  of  patience 
when  I  see  men  who  seem  to  think  some  party  interest  superior  to  huuuin 
happiness  and  welfare.  Vote  as  you  pray  If  you  believe  intemperance  an 
evil,  then  remove  the  temptation  out  of  the  way. 

After  a  long  and  earnest  discu.ssion,  partieij>ated  in  by  Dr. 
Pershing,  T.  W.  Price,  W.  J.  Paxton,  Jndgo  ]McCalraont,  Dr. 
Hodgson,  F.  B.  Riddle,  Dr.  Dashiell,  Dr.  Patti.-^on,  I.  H.  Tor- 
rence,  and  others,  the  following  resolutions  were  unanimously 
adopted — viz. : 

Resolved,  1,  That  all  facilities  for  the  sale  and  use  of  intoxicating  liquors  lead 
to  and  foster  unnatural  and  dangerous  appetites  for  them,  inevitably  tend- 


72  MINUTES   OF   CONVENTION. 

ing  to  the  formation  of  intemperate  habits  and  issuing  in  wide-spread  social 
evils  and  corruptions  that  no  police  regulations  can  repress;  we  therefore  de- 
clare it  to  be  morally  wrong,  socially  impolitic,  and  nationally  wicked  to 
eanction  and  protect  by  lawa  traffic  whose  constant  tendency  and  results  are 
pernicious  to  the  iudividiial  and  disastrous  to  the  community. 

Resolved,  2,  That  we  call  upon  our  members,  fellow-Christians  of  other  com- 
munions and  good  citizens,  to  persistently  use  all  proper  means  for  the  over- 
throw of  the  system  of  license  and  the  establishment  of  prohibition. 

On  motion,  adjourned. 
Benediction  by  Robt.  H.  Pattison. 


SIXTH  SESSION. 


St.  George's  M.  E.  Church,  Philadelphia. 

Thursday  morning^  October  20th,  1870. 

The  State  Convention  met  according  to  adjournment  in  St. 
George's  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  at  nine  o'clock. 

Rev.  H.  Sinsabaiigh,  of  Pittsburgh  Conference,  in  the  cluiir. 

Religious  services  conducted  by  Rev.  James  Curns,  of  the 
Central  Penn.sylvania  Conference. 

The  minutes  of  the  previous  session  were  read  and  ajiproved. 

The  Chair  announced  the  Topic  of  tlie  present  session  to  be — 
"  The  Educational  Interests  of  the  Mctiiodist  Episcopal  Church 
in  I'(!nnsylvania." 

Committee — Rev.  George  Loomis,  D.  D.,  Rev.  R.  L.  Dash- 
iell,  and  Rev.  I.  C.  Pershing,  D.  D. 

R(!V.  Dr.  Loomis,  Chairman  of  the  Committee,  presented  and 
read  the  following  able  report : 

Essay  of  Rkv.  Geo.  Loomis,  l^.  T). 

In  CioiVn  jdaiiH  iiiHiitulii>iiH  are  mightier  ami  more  omluriuj;  tluiu  thoir 
foundcPH.  The  laller  die,  but  the  I'oniier  live  on  ihrougli  the  centuries  with 
a  broader  and  intenHer  life. 

Tlio  outflowing  life-currenU  of  tliese  institutions  arc  iiKirc  polciil  and  more 
enduriii«  than  even  the  inslKutions  iheinHplves. 

The  hitler  hIhiII  be  ciifuldcd  in  the  tomb  of  lime,  but  llic  foriiicr  Hhall  How 
on  llirouj^h  iIk'  ficrnilicB  in  cvcrirn'rcuHiiij^  iiitcnsily. 

The  life-forces  of  Oxford  cntereii  into  Iho  Wcsleys  with  a  profound  scholar- 


ESSAY  OF  REV.  DR.   LOOMIS.  73 

ship  and  a  broad  culture  and  a  rigid  training.     Thanks   to   Oxford.     Yet 
Wesleyanism  to-day  is  mightier  than  Oxford. 

After  the  accumulated  wealth  of  the  learning  and  wisdom  of  five  centuries 
had  been  gathered  up  into  the  life  of  a  University,  that  University  became 
the  birth-place  of  Methodism. 

To-day,  after  the  lapse  of  less  than  a  century  and  a  half,  in  its  ethical 
and  Christian  forces,  in  its  agencies  for  the  enlightenment  of  the  public  con- 
science and  purifying  the  fount  of  public  morals,  in  its  work  of  educating 
the  millions  and  re-casting  thought  and  moulding  the  character  of  the  age, 
in  its  upliftings  of  humanity  and  its  realizations  of  a  common  brotherhood  in 
thought  and  truth  and  Christianity,  Methodism  is  to-day  infinitely  greater 
than  tlie  University  that  gave  it  birth. 

Yet  tlianks  to  the  University  for  the  scholarship,  culture  and  training  of 
the  members  of  the  "Holy  Club."  Through  the  ministries  of  the  Uni- 
versity God  was  preparing  these  men  for  a  work  which  demanded  not  only 
sanctified  hearts,  but  thorough  scholarship,  and  profound  learning,  and  rigid 
intellectual  training.  It  was  a  work  of  laying  broad  foundations — and  laying 
them  deep,  and  laying  them  wisely.  And  God  had  need,  as  He  always  hath, 
of  master-icorkmen. 

Methodism,  then,  found  its  inspiration  in  the  University  and  the  Divine 
forces  of  Christianity  ;  and,  in  its  great  plans,  has  ever  been  true  to  this  in- 
spiration. 

We  are  not  forgetful  of  the  fact  that  it  has  been  charged  with  opposition 
to  an  educated  ministry  and  membership.  No  charge  was  ever  more 
groundless,  or  more  indicative  of  ignorance  of  the  birth,  mission,  spirit,  and 
work  of  Methodism. 

Wesley,  from  the  very  first  of  his  evangelical  ministrations,  recognized  the 
conservative  power  of  education,  and  the  necessity  of  literary  institutions. 

Commencing  the  work  of  evangelism  among  the  colliers  of  England,  he 
united  with  Whitefield  in  laying  the  foundations  of  the  now  noted  Kingswood 
School.  It  was  a  grand  scene — the  laying  of  the  corner-stone  of  that  school — 
Whitefield  kneeling  on  the  ground,  surrounded  by  converted  and  weeping  col- 
liers, awakened  to  a  new  intellectual,  as  well  as  moral  life— earnestly  pray- 
ing, amid  tears  and  groans,  that  God  would  bless  the  cause  of  Christian  edu- 
cation.    Such  the  scene. 

Wesley  also  early  projected  schools  for  poor  children,  which  schools,  each 
year,  add  to  the  thousands  which  have  received  instruction  in  them. 

At  his  first  Conference  he  proposed  a  theological  school — a  seminary,  where 
men  should  be  trained  for  the  work  of  the  Christian  ministry.  This  concep- 
tion finds  its  embodiment  to-day  in  the  theological  institutions  of  Richmond 
and  Didsbury,  and  of  Boston.  Evanston,  and  Madison. 

I  would  not  have  those  who  have  echoed  and  re-echoed  the  charge  referred 
to  above  forget,  that  it  is  a  fact  of  history,  possibly  of  denominational  con- 
gratulation, that  Trinceton,  to-day,  so  rigidly  Calvinistic  in  its  the- 
ology, was  warmed  into  life  by  Methodistic  fire,  and  that  Nassau  Hall  re- 
ceived a  Methodistic  baptism  at  its  birth,  through  the  ministry  of  Whitefield. 
He  inspired  its  founders  with  an  earnest  enthusiasm,  and  Methodists  in  Eng- 


74  MINUTES   OF   CONVENTION. 

land  gave  it  funds.  Its  President,  Davies,  wrote  thus  to  Wesley:  "How 
great  is  the  honor  God  is  conferring  upon  you,  in  making  you  a  restorer  of 
declining  religion." 

Another  historic  fact.  Dartmouth  College  bears  the  name  of  Lord  Dart- 
mouth, a  nobleman  of  England,  and  none  the  less  noble  from  being  a  Metho- 
dist himself  and  the  friend  and  patron  of  Methodism. 

Cowper  says  of  him  : 

"  We  boast  some  rich   ones  whom  the  Gospel  sways, 
And  one  who  wears  a  coronet  and  prays." 

One  hundred  years  ago  this  College  received  a  Methodist  christening,  and 
a  Methodist  was  its  principal  benefactor,  and  a  Methodist's  prayers  entered 
into  its  life.  All  along  the  line  of  Methodistic  history  we  find  schools,  semi- 
naries, and  colleges  springing  into  existence,  and  the  best  talent  of  the 
Church  consecrated  to  the  work  of  education. 

Besides  the  Wesleyan  Theological  Institutions  and  Wesleyan  Colleges  and 
Wesleyan  JJormal  Institutions,  Methodism  has,  in  England,  a  grand  educa- 
tional scheme  which  comprises  nearly  five  hundred  day  schools  and  sixty 
thousand  pupils. 

American  Methodism  has  an  unprecedented  record  of  labor  and  sacrifice  in 
founding  its  universities,  colleges,  theological  schools,  and  seminaries,  the 
number  of  which  largely  exceeds  that  of  any  other  denomination  in  the 
land. 

Men  who  read  the  history  and  view  the  educational  movements  of  the 
Church,  and  witness  the  spirit  of  sacrifice  pervading  the  heroic  corps  of  edu- 
cators— who  apprehend  the  life  and  genius  of  Methodism,  will  never  repeat 
the  charge. 

He  is  a  very  silly  logician  who  bases  his  generalizations  on  accidental  cir- 
cumstances, or  circumscribes  his  line  of  thought  to  individual  cases  and  lo- 
calities, or  restricted  periods  of  a  Church's  history. 

Tiie  genius  of  Methodism  prompts,  liath  ever  prompted,  to  do  the  work  of 
the  hour — to  take  up  the  duty  nearest  at  hand;  to  co-work  in  the  living 
present,  witii  God's  providences,  using  the  best  agencies  at  liand  ;  to  fore- 
cast the  future,  and  prcjjarc  for  the  emergencies  that  sinill  press  her  iit  every 
point  of  lier  expanding  greatness.     This  her  genius;   thus  her  life. 

Hence,  Christ,  and  salvation  through  Christ,  first;  and  then  the  press  and 
the  schools. 

Wo  would  here  record  the  fact,  not  boaslingly,  but  with  great  graliliidc  to 
God,  that  in  its  educating  forces,  reaciiing  oui  and  taking  hold  t)f  the  million 
through  the  Book  Concern  and  its  numerous  depositaries  ;  through  the  press, 
with  its  vast  Issues,  interlacing  the  Continent;  through  its  seminaries  and 
Collegf'H,  Mcthodlum  is  without  a  j)arullel  in  denoiiiinationiil  liislory. 

Tlierefore,  any  man  who  has  a  reputation  for  general  iiitelligenco  cannot 
afford  to  affirm  that  our  Church  is  opposed  to  education. 

I'cnnHylvania  Methodism  is  no  exception  to  tlie  general  position  taken 
above,      iler  educational    liislory  is    one  of   failh,   labur,  and    sacrifice.      She 


ESSAY   OF   REV.   DR.    LOOMIS.  <0 

has  not  accomplished  what  she  might,  what  she  ought  to,  have  accomplished. 
Her  seminaries  and  colleges  ought  to  have  to-day  broader  foundations, 
ampler  facilities  for  instruction,  and  larger  endowments,  faculties,  and  pa- 
tronage. The  heart,  prayers,  and  wealth  of  the  Church  ought  to  have 
entered  more  largely  into  the  life  of  these  institutions.  More  of  her  aona 
and  daughters  ought  to  have  crowded  her  scholastic  halls,  and,  thoroughly 
educated,  gone  forth  to  bless  the  Church  and  reflect  honor  on  the  State. 
Conceding  all  this,  yet  it  has  entered  inio  history,  that  Methodism  has  done  a 
great  educational  work  in  Pennsylvania. 

The  statistics  of  this  work  which  have  been  furnished  us,  are  not  as  ample 
as  we  could  desire,  yet  sufficiently  so  to  give  a  comprehensive  view. 

We  commence  with  Wyoming  Seminary. 

Wyoming  Seminary  and  Commercial  College. 

This  institution  is  located  in  the  Wyoming  Valley,  at  Kingston.  It  was 
founded  in  1844.  With  humble  beginnings,  it  has  developed  a  strong  life. 
Its  doors  are  open  alike  to  males  and  females. 

During  the  last  quarter  of  a  century  it  has  enrolled  nine  thousand  stu- 
dents. It  has  had  about  three  thousand  under  training  for  teachers;  it  has 
prepared  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  for  College ;  has  sent  forth  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  to  the  work  of  the  Christian  ministry. 

The  last  Catalogue  shows  a  Board  of  Instruction  consisting  of  sixteen  mem- 
bers, with  Rev.  Reuben  Nelson,  D.  D.,  as  Principal,  and  an  attendance  of 
five  hundred  and  fifty-two  students,  three  hundred  and  seventy-one  of  whom 
were  males  and  one  hundred  and  eighty -one  females. 

The  Seminary  property  is  estimated  at  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  thou- 
sand dollars. 

It  has  a  record  worthy  of  the  Church  and  State. 

Dickinson  Seminary. 

This  institution  is  located  at  AVilliamsport.  It  embraces  both  sexes  under 
the  same  government  and  instruction.  Its  buildings  are  spacious,  and  will 
accommodate  over  two  hundred  boarding  students. 

The  last  Catalogue  records  sixty-three  females  and  one  hundred  and  seventy- 
three  male  students. 

It  has  a  Faculty  of  nine  teachers,  presided  over  by  Rev.  W.  Lee  Spotswood, 
D.  D.  It  has  had  many  able  and  devoted  teachers  ;  it  has  sent  forth  many 
excellent  scholars  of  sterling  worth. 

Its  present  relationship  to  the  Church  is  more  intimate  and  satisfactory, 
and  its  prospects  for  the  future  more  encouraging  than  at  any  period  in  its 
past  history. 

Beaver  Seminary. 

This  institution  is  located  on  the  banks  of  the  Ohio  River,  at  Beaver. 

It  was  founded  in  1853,  and  was  opened  for  pupils  in  1856.  Its  character 
and  the  scope  of  its  plan  have  been  enlarged  at  the  suggestion  and  by  the 
liberality  of  Judge  Agnew. 


76  MINUTES   OF   CONVENTION. 

Its  Faculty  numbers  ten,  and  is  presided  over  by  Rev.  R.  T.  Taylor,  A.  M. 

The  Catalogue  for  the  scholastic  year  of  18G9  and  70  shows,  that  one 
hundred  and  six  were  in  the  female  department  and  fifty-seven   in  the  male- 

A  Musical  Institute  constitutes  a  prominent  feature  of  the  Seminary,  and 
seeks  to  secure  a  thorough  education  in  that  science. 

Under  the  Presidency  of  Rev.  R.  T.  Taylor  this  institution  is  enlarging  its 
patronage  and  its  educational  facilities,  and  is  doing  a  good  work. 

Its  property  is  estimated  at  twenty  thousand  dollars. 

Carrier  Seminary. 

This  institution  is  new,  and  is  located  at  Clarion. 

It  has  just  entered  upon  its  educational  life  with  good  promise. 

The  Seminary  property  has  cost  already  over  thirty  thousand  dollars. 

Lake  Shore  Seminary. 

This  is  a  new  educational  enterprise,  and  is  located  at  North  East. 
The  building  is  nearly  completed,  at  a  cost  of  thirty  thousand  dollars,  and 
will  open  its  halls  for  the  admission  of  students  in  December  next. 

Irving  Female  College. 

This  institution  is  located  in  the  Cumberland  Valley,  at  Mechanicsburg. 
It  was  founded  in  1856.  It  has  a  college  charter,  with  power  to  confer 
degrees. 

It  is  presided  over  by  Rev.  T.  P.  Ege,  A.  M.,  who  succeeded  Rev.  A.  G. 
Marlatt,  A.  M.,  who  was  President  for  nine  years. 

The  institution  is  designed  to  furnish  a  Cliristian  home  for  j'oung  ladies, 
the  number  of  whom  is  limited  to  forty. 

Its  Christian  culture  has  gone  forth  to  bless  many  a  Methodist  family. 

Its  property  is  estimated  at  thirty  thousand  dollars. 

Pittsburgh  Female  College. 

This  institution  is  located  in  the  city  of  Pittsburgh. 

The  Church  is  largely  indebted  to  Bishop  Simpson  for  the  origination  and 
founding  of  this  College,  designed  for  the  education  of  young  ladies.  The 
main  College  building  was  completed  and  its  halls  opened  for  students  in  the 
year  18'%. 

The  statistics  of  (lie  institution  show  a  healthful  growth,  both  as  regards 
capacity  to  receive  pu|iiln  and  fiicilities  to  instruct. 

Tiie  average  attendiince  during  the  fifteen  years  of  its  existence  has  been 
two  hundred  and  seventy-nine. 

It  Ih  under  the  control  of  a,  Board  of  Trustees,  of  whom  Bishop  Simpson  is 
President. 

The  last  CalalDgue  sliows  a  Faculty  of  twenty-two  members,  presided  over 
by  Rev.  I.  C.  Pershing,  U.  D.  The  number  of  students  for  the  academic  year 
18fi0  ami  70  was  two  hundred  and  ninety-five. 

The  estimated  value  of  the  College  property,  including  buildings,  grounds, 


ESSAY   OF    REV.    DR.    I.OOMIS.  77 

etc.,  is  one  hundred  thousand  dollars,  with  an  indebtedness  of  seventeen 
thousand  dollars.  Upwards  of  fifty  thousand  dollars  have  been  suhscribeii 
as  an  endowment  fund,  the  greater  part  of  which  is  conililioned  on  the  pay- 
ment of  the  debt,  a  part  of  which  has  been  provided  for. 

The  College  seems  to  have  a  life  strong  and  vigorous,  prophetic  of  a  future 
serviceable  to  the  Church. 

Allegheny  College. 

Located  at  Meadville.  Founded  in  1815.  Number  of  Alumni,  454.  Average 
yearly  attendance  during  the  twenty-five  years  212,  most  of  whom  pursued 
elective  studies. 

The  Board  of  Trustees  at  its  last  meeting  opened  the  doors  of  the  College 
to  ladies.  The  last  Catalogue  records  a  Faculty  of  seven,  and  students  num- 
bering one  hundred  and  twenty-five.  It  has  a  valuable  Library,  extensive 
apparatus,  astronomical,  chemical  and  philosophical — large  cabinets,  geologi- 
cal, mineralogical,  conchological  and  entomological.  Museum  of  Art,  History, 
and  Reading  Room  embracing  the  leading  periodicals  of  America  and 
England. 

The  College  property  is  estimated  at  $244,000. 

Endowment  Fund. 

Productive, $93,000 

Partially  productive, 85,000 

§178,000 
Rev.  Dr.  Ruter,  and  Rev.  Dr,  Barker,  former  Presidents  of  the  College, 
although  now  in  heaven,  still  live  in  the  memory  and  affection  of  the  Church. 
Rev.  Bishop  Kingsley,  now  sleeping  in  th';  Holy  Land,  devoted  years  of  his 
manhood's  strength  to  tlie  enlargement  of  the  life  of  the  College.  It  will 
have  a  nobler  future  for  the  labors  of  these  grand  workers. 

Dickinson  College. 

1.  Founded  in 1783. 

2.  Number  of  yl^M77»i! 1053. 

3.  "        "  Professors  in  the  Faculty 8. 

4.  "         ''           "              "              "        Alumni 7. 

5.  "        '*  Students  present  year 108. 

6.  "         "         "         from   Pennsylvania 58. 

7.  «'         "         »'         who  are  religious 60. 

8.  Present  Faculty: 

Rev.  R.  L.  Dasuiell,  D.  D., 

President  and  Professor  of  Moral  Science. 
Samdel  D.  Hillman,  A.  M., 

Professor  of  Mathematics  and  Astronomy. 

John  K.  Stayman,  A.  M., 

Professor  of  Philosophy  and  English  Literature. 


78  MINUTES   OF   CONVENTION". 

Hon.  James  H.  Graham,  LL.  D., 

Professor  of  Law. 
Charles  F.  Hines,  Ph.  D., 

Professor  of  JS\i(ural  Science. 
Rev.  S.  L.  Bowman,  A.  M., 

Professor  of  Biblical  Languages  and  Literature 
Rev.  Henry  M.  Harman,  D.  D., 

Professor  of  Ancient  Languages  and  Literature. 
Rev.  William  Trickett,  A.  B., 

Adjunct  Professor  of  Modern  Languages. 


9.   Amount,  of  productive  Eadowment $175,000. 

10.  Value  of  Real  Estate.  80,000. 

11.  No.  Vols,  in  Libraries 25,uG3. 


This  College  is  located  at  Carlisle.  It  has  done,  and  is  doing  a  good  work. 
The  lives  of  Emory,  Caldwell,  Johnson  and  McClintock,  the  now  sainted  dead, 
entered  largely  into  its  life,  and  they  live  in  the  memory  and  life-work  of 
hundreds  of  its  Altnnni 

This  condensed  e.xhibit  of  tlie  status  and  life  of  our  literary  institutions 
will  afford  anchorage  ground  for  tlie  faith  of  the  Church,  wliile  we  pause  for 
an  hour  to  review  the  grounds  of  our  faith  in  our  educational  work,  compare 
views  as  to  our  true  line  of  duty,  and  inaugurate  plans  for  greater  effective- 
ness in  securing  larger  and  belter  results  in  the  future. 

At  this  period  of  our  Churcli  history,  an  advance  movement  is  demanded. 
The  intense  intellectual  forces  of  the  age,  the  stern  grapple  with  great  social 
problems,  the  broader  range  of  scientific  thought  and  investigation,  the  in- 
creased demand  of  the  State  upon  our  Church  for  men  pre-eminently  qualified 
for  liigli  civic  an<l  diplomatic  positions,  the  earnest  call  of  the  jmlpit  and 
mission  field  for  trained  scholarly  men,  and  the  constantly  increasing  intelli- 
gence of  the  membership  of  the  Church,  constitute  so  many  reasons  for 
placing  our  institutions  on  advance  ground. 

To  do  this  most  effectually,  there  must  be  the  sympathy  and  intelligent  co- 
operation of  the  whole  Church.  In  all  denomiiuilions,  the  work  of  founding 
and  su.staiiiing  seminaries  and  colleges  ha.s  been  left  to  the  few.  An  elect 
few  have  assumed  the  responsibilities,  and  shared  the  lionors.  Onr  own  de- 
r.ninination  is  no  exception.  Tiie  idea  of  personal  uwner.sliip  has  not  taken 
full  iiiisscssion  of  the  heart  of  (he  Church. 

We  hear  .Melhoilisis  now  talking  of  l»r.  Dashiell's  College,  Dr.  I'er.-^liing's 
College,  Dr.  Kpotlswood's  .Seminary,  ai)parenlly  unconscious  of  the  fact  that 
these  oducatora  are  only  the  servants  of  the  ("hiirch,  supervising  a  great 
trust,  and  Inboring  for  a  great  deniiiniiiaiidiiiil  interest.  The  pervading  de- 
nominational sentiment  shouhl  be,  that  these  inslilnlions  arc  not  appendages, 
but  constitute  part  of  Methodism — llnit  the  relation  is  one  of  not  patronage 
dimply,  but  of  proprietor.iliip — ilmi  enoh  Melliodist  in  ihe  Slate  is  a  proprio- 
lor,  iia'^  underwritten  liie  bond,  and  has  an  individual  responsibility.  The 
feeling  should  be,  these  schools  arc  ours. 


ESSAY   OF   UEV.    "DR.    T.OO^flS.  79 

When  these  institutions  are  taken  up  in  tlie  essential  organism  and  life  of 
the  Churcli,  so  that  her  life-currenls  will  How  through  thetii,  uml  tlicv  in 
turn  impart  to  the  Church  a  stronger  aiul  more  enduring  life,  then,  and  not 
till  then,  will  the  true  harmony  of  rehition.sliip  be  attained,  and  the  Church 
become  gloriously  grand  in  her  schools.  ^ 

Another  reason  for  taking  advance  ground  is  found  in  tlie  fact,  that  our 
Colleges  are  in  incessant  competition  with  institutions  more  venerable  in  age, 
richer  in  their  endowments,  stronger  in  tlieir  alumni,  ampler  in  their  facili- 
ties for  instruction  and  for  original  research,  more  largely  reputable  in  the 
wealth  of  literature,  history,  art,  pliilosopliy  and  science  treasured  up  in  their 
libraries,  more  extensive  in  their  range  of  instruction  through  the  means  of 
larger  faculties,  occupying  chairs  each  devoted  to  a  particuhir  line  of  tliought, 
•whh  leisure  for  original  investigation,  and  with  a  history  which  counect.s 
them  with  the  educated  men  of  Church  and  State. 

All  that  these  institutions  are  in  real  excellence  and  intrinsic  power,  would 
we  make  ours,  and  more  largely  tlius  secure  the  educating  of  the  sons  of 
Methodism,  now,  in  many  instances,  lost  to  the  Church.  Hence  the  necessity, 
and,  I  add,  the  duty  of  Methodist  men  in  Pennsylvania,  to  consecrate  their 
wealth  to  the  cause  of  Christian  education. 

For  the  purpose, 

1st.  Of  placing  our  si'ininarics  on  a  firm  financial  basis,  and  of  furnishing 
them  with  every  requisite  facility  for  doing  their  distinctive  work  well.  Each 
year  tiiey  should  attain  new  power,  and  keep  abreast  of  the  best  methods  of 
instruction — for  the  purpose. 

2d.  Of  giving  our  Colleges  a  higher  life,  and  enlarging  their  efficiency,  by 
first  erecting  scientific  Halls,  Laboratories,  Observatories,  classic  buildings 
for  Chapels,  Libraries,  Art  Museums,  and  Cabinets. 

3d.  By  furnishing  these  Halls,  Laboratories  and  Observatories,  with  the 
latest  and  most  approved  forms  of  apparatus,  philosophical,  chemical  and 
astronomical,  for  illustrating  scientific  principles,  and  for  advance  research 
by  the  professors,  and  by  collecting  books  relating  to  all  departments  of 
thouglit  and  study,  cabinets  extensive  in  their  range  of  illustration,  and 
works  of  art,  inducing  aesthetic  culture. 

4th.  Uy  the  ample  endowment  of  professorships,  thereby  securing  men  pre- 
eminent for  their  learning  and  aptness  to  teach,  as  well  as  a  proper  division 
of  labor. 

Thus  furnished  and  endovyed  our  colleges  will  soon  take  rank  with  the 
oldest  and  best  in  the  land,  and  Meiiiodist  sons  and  daughters  of  the  richest 
mental  endowments  will  throng  their  halls. 

The  feeling  of  proprietorship  in  institutions  of  intrinsic  excellence  will 
give  direotioa  to  patronage.  Loyalty  to  convictions  and  to  the  Church  will 
discriminate  in  favor  of  our  own  seminaries  and  colleges,  whatever  be  the 
directions  of  popular  currents.  Election  of  our  own  does  not  imply  a  de- 
preciating judgment  of  others.  In  the  brotherhood  of  learning,  we  rejoice 
at  the  success  of  any  institution,  that  is  in  harmony  with  our  national  life. 
Every  true  Protestant  owes  fealty  to  his  Protestant  convictions;  and  Methodism 
is  intensely  Protestant.     Yet  Methodist  parents  have  placed  their  children  iu 


80  MINUTES  OF  CON^^ENTION. 

schools  outside  of  Protestantism,  and  subjected  them  to  influences  the  most 
insidious  and  potent,  and  the  more  potent  because  insidious.  Is  it  any 
wonder  that  these  parents  have  painfully  realized  the  certainty  of  the  fact, 
that  the  Papal  Church  has  intreanched  herself  in  their  own  home-sanctuaries? 
and  that  there  hath  entered  there  an  element  foreign  to  their  hopes,  and 
dangerous  to  their  peace? 

Our  denominational  schools  have  a  right  to  expect,  to  demand  the  patron- 
age of  Methodism,  and  if  these  schools  are  not  what  they  ought  to  bo,  it  is 
her  business  and  duty  to  make  them  so.  Then  the  patronage  now  so  reputa- 
ble, would  be  quadrupled. 

The  increasing  numbers,  influence,  and  power  of  the  Church,  the  social 
and  civic  demands  pressing  her  at  every  point,  her  widening  field  of  action 
and  her  expanding  life,  indicate  the  duty  of  education  more  general  and 
more  liberal,  as  the  conservation  of  Methodism  in  its  integrity. 

Without  this  higher  intelligence  and  liberal  culture  she  fails  in  taking  her 
just  social  rank,  and  hence,  as  a  natural  sequence,  her  sons  and  daughters 
will  seek  more  congenial  communions,  and  drift  away  from  her  altars.  This 
is  history.  Without  this  liberal  education  constantly  broadening,  she  cannot 
meet  the  claims  of  the  State  upon  her  for  representatives  thoroughly  quali- 
fied to  fill  positions  of  trust  in  legislative,  judical  and  executive  departments; 
and  thus  she  fails  to  project  her  life  and  spirit  into  the  higher  life  of  the 
State,  and  by  degrees  drift  out  of  sight. 

Without  this  liberal  education  more  generally  diffused  throughout  the 
Church,  she  cannot  from  her  own  life  furnish  the  men  of  intellectual  breadth, 
and  depth,  and  power,  for  the  pulpit  and  mission  field,  so  imperiously  de- 
manded, and  her  failure  will  insure  her  disintegration.  We  say  this  thought- 
fully. Hence  our  plea  for  liberal  culture.  Superficiality  engenders  weakness  ; 
and  weakness  long  continued  is  a  premonition  of  death,  a  Church  superficial 
in  its  theology,  in  its  thoughts  and  culture,  in  its  training  and  life,  will  lack 
coherency  and  tenacity  of  life-power. 

The  tendency  of  the  age  is  in  this  direction,  and  finds  expression  in  the 
commercial  college,  and  in  the  clamor  for  a  change  in  the  old  curriculum  of 
study  so  radical  as  to  take  most  of  the  hard  work  out  of  it. 

The  commercial  college  may  do  a  limited  work  well — may  sharpen  a  few 
tools  keenly.  Conceded.  Its  design  is  limited.  It  lacks  breadtii  and  scope. 
It  meets  the  want  of  the  hour,  and  young  men  receive  its  diploma  as  the 
terminus  of  this  brief  educational  life,  and  go  forth  to  the  responsibilities  of 
the  age,  shallow  in  ihoiifilit,  nmlevelopcd  in  intellect,  and  untraineil  in  logic 
an<i  i)liil«)Ropliy,  wiiiniut  the  love  of  learning  for  its  own  sake,  or  the  man- 
hood whicii  it  forms.      Hence  it  practically  superinduces  superficiality. 

The  clamor  against  llic  old  metlioJa,  and  the  established  courses  of  study 
in  our  colleges,  finds  its  inspiration  in  superficial  views,  and  in  the  dislike  of 
hard,  persistent  inlellcclnal  work. 

Tlie  attempt  is  luiidc  t.,  Icwer  the  standard  of  collegiate  (MJncalion,  so  as  to 
avoid  the  work  reijuisite  for  tiie  attainment  of  true  manly  scholarship. 

Tiiis  siiouM  be  the  point  of  resistance  by  Methodist  educators,  and  instead 
of  lowering,  they  shoull  ni'ike  the  standard  of  scholarly  allaininont  higher, 


ESSAY   OF   REV.    DR.    LOOMIS.  81 

Superfici.ality  turns  pale  at  the  sight  of  the  uiiiount  of  hil)(jr  iI.'miuikIc.I  in 
education  in  its  sublimer  spheres.  • 

The  Convention  will  pardon  me,  if  I  pause  here  a  moment  to  say,  that  by 
the  term  education  we  do  not  mean  simply  ilie  ac(|uirement  of  a  great  mass  of 
facts,  the  classification  of  great  philosophic  principles,  or  even  a  comprehen- 
sive acquaintance  with  philosophy,  natural,  mental,  ethical,  with  mathematics, 
practical  and  abstract,  with  the  classics,  ancient  and  modern.  We  do  not  mean 
simply  a  knowledge  of  the  laws  which  govern  matter  and  mind,  an  insight 
into  the  causes  which  occasion  moral  and  political  revolutions.  An  under- 
standing of  the  great  principles  of  national  polity  and  international  law,  or 
tlie  enriching  of  the  mind  with  accumulated  and  accumulating  lore  of  centu- 
ries, or   all  these,  but  something  higher,  nobler,  mightier. 

We  do  not  mean  the  communication  of  knowledge,  either  by  the  living 
teacher  or  the  written  volume — the  impartation  of  truth  by  the  vocal  utter- 
ances either  of  nature  or  nature's  God.  But  we  do  mean  the  development  of 
the  spiritual  in  man  by  rigid  and  persistent  training,  the  calling  out  the 
powers  of  a  soul  unlimited  in  its  grasp  of  truth  ;  the  enlargement  of  the  un- 
derstanding to  constantly  increasing  breadth  and  volume;  the  training  of 
the  reasoning  faculties  for  the  great  conflict  of  the  true  against  the  false, 
the  real  against  the  sham.  The  opening  of  the  mental  eye,  to  the  ajsthetic, 
the  beautiful  in  nature  and  art. 

The  formation  of  a  habit  of  concentration,  of  fixed  and  continuous  atten- 
tion, of  close  grapple  in  the  stern  mental  conflict,  of  deliberate,  independent 
judgment,  which  gives  individuality  to  a  man,  and  prevents  him  from  being 
absorbed  by  the  mass  of  intellect  around  him,  of  careful  analytic  investiga- 
tion, which  distinguishes  intellectual  men,  from  intellectual  babes  and  suck- 
lings, who  derive  their  mental  sustenance  from  the  breasts  of  political  dema- 
gogues or  educational  charlatans. 

The  acquirement  of  a  power,  a  constantly  increasing  power  of  thinking, 
comparing  and  reasoning.  The  unfolding  of  the  soul's  inherent  perceptivi- 
ties of  the  beautiful,  the  pure,  and  the  true.  The  giving  full  scope,  direction 
and  activity  to  man's  higher  and  nobler  nature. 

We  hold  no  sympathy  with  a  system  of  education  which  proposes  the  im- 
partation of  knowledge  only  as  a  means  of  worldly  gain  and  worldly  prefer- 
ment. 

We  plead  for  a  system  of  education  whose  whole  spirit  and  aim  is  to  de- 
velop the  reason  of  man,  the  glory  of  his  nature.  To  throw  him  back  upon 
himself — to  make  him  think — isolated  from  all  other  minds,  to  think  accu- 
rately, profoundly,  independently.  To  increase  year  by  year  his  power  of 
justly  estimating  realities  which  underlie  all  systems  of  social  philosophy  — 
which  have  to  do  with  the  exactness  of  his  manhood,  with  the  destiny  of  his 
soul  and  his  race,  with  the  social,  civil  and  religious  well-being — realities 
which  in  their  far-reaching  take  hold  on  God. 

Such  mental  gymnastics  and  culture,  we  claim  as  the  underlying  base  of 
all  professional  or  functional  education,  whether  in  Philosophy,  Medicine, 
Law  or  Divinity  ;  it  is  a  prophecy  of  professional  power  and  success. 

6 


82  MINUTES   OF   CONVENTION. 

In  this  generalization,  I  would  not  lose  eight  of  the  specific  relation 
Christianity  sustains  ttJ  education. 

God  has  made  conscience  one  of  the  functions  of  the  soul.  This  should 
be  so  cultured  under  divinely  appointed  means,  as  to  act  as  umpire  in  all 
questions  of  duty.  Yet  it  should  not  be  forgotten  that  the  moral  nature  con- 
stitutionally follows  and  obeys  the  law  of  its  depravity,  and  if  the  current 
of  this  depravity  sweeps  on  unchecked,  the  voice  of  conscience  will  be 
drowned  amid  the  roar  of  the  desolating  mountain  torrent  of  selfishness  and 
passion.  Any  system  of  education,  or  ethical  philosophy,  which  ignores  the 
law  of  depravity,  we  deem  radically  defective. 

Its  moral  maxims  may  be  beautiful  and  true,  its  enforcement  of  duty  just 
and  right,  its  superstructure  to  the  eye  tasteful,  symmetrical  and  ever-endu- 
ring;  but  the  rigid  test  of  Christian  philosophic  truth  detects  a  weakness  at 
the  very  base —  defect  in  the  foundation  stone. 

The  business  of  moral  culture  is,  by  the  use  of  the  Divine  forces  of  Chris- 
tianity to  keep  in  check  this  depravity — to  give  distinctness  and  intensity  to 
the  moral  perceptions,  to  render  the  moral  susceptibilities  keenly  delicate 
and  sensitive,  to  gather  about  it  truth  ever  radiant  with  light,  to  bring  it 
close  to  God,  and  then  leave  it  free  to  give  utterances  of  monition,  approval, 
and  denunciation. 

I  have  used  the  term/rfc  I  would  make  it  emphatic.  In  matters  of  con- 
science and  religion,  we  claim  for  man  the  largest  liberty,  and  for  the  exer- 
cise of  this  liberty  hold  him  accountable  only  to  his  God.  Not  to  ecclesias- 
tical or  political  tribunals;  not  to  the  church  or  State;  not  to  the  priest  or 

Pope. 

We  repeat  it,  in  this  regard,  man's  accountability  is  only  to  his  God. 

We  would  not  have  it  forgotten,  that  a  large  intelligence  is  most  intimately 
connected  with  an  enlightened  moral  sense. 

All  decisions  of  conscience  are  based  upon  antecedent  intellections,  and 
are  conformable  to  such  intellections.  Hence,  if  the  perception  be  false,  if 
the  intellect  misapprehends  the  facts,  the  decisions  of  conscience  will,  as  a 
necessary  sequence,  be  wrong.  If  intellectual  light  be  wanting,  conscience 
must  grope  its  way  in  darkness. 

The  individu.al  governed  simply  by  a  religious  impulse,  and  not  by  reason 
and  an  enlightened  conscience,  acting  with  all  honest  ainceriiy  upon  a  false 
hypotliesis  is  subject  to  the  most  overbearing  dogmatism,  tlio  wildest  fanati- 
cisni,  the  most  rigid  sectarianism,  the  loosest  socialism,  and  the  most  cruel 
superstition. 

TIio  best  forms  of  scholastic  culture  in  our  educational  instilulioiis  will 
save  the  churcli  from  such  revelations. 

It  is  also  painfully  true,  that  men  of  great  intellectual  power,  of  profound 
learning,  and  of  extensive  acquirements  in  (lie  various  departments  of 
science,  hiw,  medicine,  and  jjliilosophy,  have  iiiaiiit'cHled  great  moral  depravi- 
ty, anil  their  enlarged  capabilities  have  been  desecrated  to  tiic  ignohle  work 
of  undermining  ciiastily,  virtue  and  morality  ;  of  blasting  tlie  ("iiristian  hopes 
of  the  unlettered,  of  scoffing  our  holy  religion,  and  treating  with  contempt 
the  cross  of  Christ. 


ESSAY    OF    REV.- DR.    I.OOMIS.  83 

More.  From  an  exalted  heiglit,  niuny  ii  prent  iiiiinl  hftB  fallen,  iimi  in 
broken  fragments  lies  in  ruins  amid  prosiitulioii,  dnitikenncsH,  crime,  sficiiil 
debauchery,  and  the  deepest  def^radatioii.  Wherefore?  No  hiirmony  be- 
tween the  head  and  conscience,  between  liie  soul  and  God,  between  the  im- 
perial intellect  and  duty  and  revelation,  between  scientific  and  phihisophic 
attainments,  and  the  heart's  emotions  and  atfeclions  sanclifie*!  by  ilie  Sjiirit. 

To  the  same  cause  may  be  traced  the  fcul  blot  upon  the  name  of  woman 
by  the  gifted,  tlie  brilliant,  and  the  beautiful  of  their  own  sex,  becoming 
the  courte/ans  of  dissolute  courts, — by  the  Theodotos  rendered  historically 
and  infamously  renowned  by  Xenophon  in  his  Morabilia. — by  tlie  Asjtasias 
wlio  charmed  by  their  glowing  eloquence,  enchanted  by  their  brilliant  wit, 
captivated  by  their  extraordinary  conversational  powers  in  philosopliy, 
poetry  and  history.  Yet  in  the  midst  of  the  splendor  of  tiieir  intellectual 
greatness,  having  a  nation's  finger  pointed  at  them  as  recreant  to  modesty, 
chastity  and  the  sex.  Wherefore?  Underlying  the  intellectual,  there  was  an 
iinfinished  and  untrained   moral  nature  in  ruins. 

We  would  not  exalt  the  intellect  above  the  conscience,  the  learning  of  the 
schools  above  religion,  the  college  above  Christ. 

We  would  not  add  strength  to  an  impious  arm,  to  wage  war  against  Go<l, 
flnd  the. largest  good  of  the  common  brotherhood.  We  would  review  the  in- 
tellect keenly  logical,  to  sophistically  tear  down  the  cross,  or  insidiously 
deprive  it  of  its  divine  efficacy.  Hence  we  plead  for  a  Christian  education, 
with  all  that  the  word  Christian  signifies.  Hence  to-day  in  the  presence  of 
the  Methodist  Church  of  Pennsylvania,  we  plead  for  Christian  schools. 

This  has  been  the  aim  of  Methodism  throughout  her  entire  history,  and 
God  has  crowned  her  seminaries  and  colleges  with  pecuniary  glory  in  making 
them  the  spiritual  birth-place  and  sanctuary  of  thousands. 

A  few  years  ago  in  this  city  in  which  we  have  assembled,  one  of  New 
England's  noblest  sons,  Daniel  Webster,  in  the  famous  Girard  will  case,  had 
the  boldness  to  affirm,  "That  everywhere  and  at  all  times,  religious  truth 
has  been  and  is  regarded  as  essential  in  the  education  of  youth — that  it  is 
the  essence,  the  vitality  of  useful  instruction." 

1  would  have  these  words  written  in  letters  of  golden  light  on  all  our  halls 
of  State  and  National  Legislation,  and  make  the  sentinu-nt  a  living,  ruling 
principle  in  the  entire  educafioiiiil  policy  of  Protestant  .\merica. 

Count  Bismark  in  one  of  his  spceclies  in  the  Prussian  Parliament  says: 
"  The  law  of  every  Christian  country  ought  to  be  an  attempt,  however,  im- 
perfect, to  embody  Christian  principles  ;  and  that,  therefore  it  was  impossi- 
ble to  entrust  with  the  administration  of  law,  those  who  did  not  recogni/e 
such  principles." 

I  would  have  this  sentiment  burnt,  as  by  the  fire  of  inspiration,  into  the 
conscience  of  every  man,  who  is  invested  with  the  right  of  elective  franchise 
and  make  the  conscience,  thus  inspired,  the  imperial  umpire  in  State  and 
National  elections. 

If  we  would  have  Christian  legislators,  and  Christim  legislation,  we  must 
have  Christian  schools, 

In  a  concluding  sentence  I  would  say,  that  in  all  Methodist  Seminaries  and 


84  MINUTES   OF    CONVENTION. 

Colleges  I  would  bave  an  ever  present.  Christ.  Not  as  a  dogmatist,  not  as  a 
bigot,  not  as  a  sectist,  but  as  a  great  and  divine  teacher,  through  whom  there 
comes  to  the  soul  of  the  student  a  God-imparted  power.  I  would  have  Christ 
in  the  recitation  and  lecture  room,  Christ  in  the  professor's  chair,  Christ  in 
the  faculty — Christ  in  life  and  history. 

During  the  reading  of  the  essay  Dr.  Allen  took  the  chair. 

Rev.  Dr.  Dashiell. — There  are  two  members,  sir,  of  the  old  Faculty  of 
Dickinson  College,  who  have  given  some  of  the  best  years  of  their  life  to 
Christian  education  in  this  Commonwealth,  now  present  with  us— Dr.  Dur- 
bin,  on  my  right,  and  Dr.  Allen,  now  President  of  Girard  College.  Permit 
me  to  say,  sir,  that  this  old  Faculty  of  Dickinson  College  to  the  present 
Faculty  is  a  blessed  memory,  and  a  continual  inspiration ;  and  I  hope,  sir, 
that  we  shall  hear  from  these  two  members  of  that  green  old  Faculty,  that 
has  done  so  much  for  Christian  education  in  this  Commonwealth. 

Rev.  Dr.  Durbin  rose  in  response  to  the  call  of  Dr.  Dashiell, 
and  was  greeted  with  applause.  In  a  few  words  he  acknow- 
ledged the  compliment  and  said  tliat  he  was  under  medical 
treatment  and  unable  to  address  the  Convention. 

t- 

Dr.  Allen,  being  called  for,  rose  and  said : 

I  am  not  a  platform  speaker,  brethren.  When  Dr.  Loomis,  yesterday 
afternoon,  requested  me  to  say  something  on  this  subject,  I  told  him  I  could 
only  read.  1  can  read  and  write  some,  but  cannot  speak.  I  did  thitik,  how- 
ever, that  I  had  a  word  or  two  to  say  until  the  most  able  and  eloquent  and 
exhaustive  analysis  of  the  subject  which  the  Chairman  of  the  Committee  has 
given  us  has  knocked  it  all  out  of  my  head.  I  could  say  nothing  in  addition  to 
what  he  has  said  ;  and  1  could  not  say  what  he  has  said  half  so  well.  At 
any  rate,  brethren,  1  will  not  detain  you  with  relating  my  personal  liistory 
and  experience,  however  interesting  that  might  be  to  myself.  1  will  say 
that  no  Church  that  lias  ever  existed  on  this  planet  has  done  as  much  for 
education  as  the  -Methodist  Cliiircli  within  the  last  forty  years,  and  yet  it 
ought  to  do  more.  It  has  doited  the  country  all  over  with  colleges  and  semi- 
naries, and  yet  many  of  these  languish  for  want  of  an  endowment.  I  refer 
to  the  rei)i)rl  just  read,  that  the  seminaries,  as  we  call  them,  are  in  a  better 
condition  in  this  Stale  than  tlie  colleges,  I  mean  pecuniarily;  and  I  believe 
our  colleges  all  through  the  country  are  crying  out  for  a  better  endowment. 
The  fact  is  that  they  cannot  pay  thiMr  professors  a  suilicient  salary  lo  com- 
mand the  best  order  of  talent  in  tlio  chairs,  aiul  that  is  what  our  colleges 
need  an<l  must  have  if  tliey  are  lo  lake  a  position  in  competition  with  otlier 
and  older  colleges  of  I  lie  country.  I  believe  tiiat  our  professors,  and  I  may 
say,  perhaps  tlie  i.rofessora  in  the  colleges  of  most  other  denominations,  arc 


ADDRESS   OF   DR.   ALLEN.  85 

the  poorest  paid  men  who  can  he  found  in  any  business  or  profession  requir- 
ing e(jual  learning,  ability,  and  skill ;  they  are  self-sacrificing  men  ;  and  what 
wonder  that  many  of  them  leave  the  professors'  chairs  and  go  into  other  de- 
partments of  life.  Some  years  ago,  twelve  or  fifteen,  perhaps,  a  good  friend 
of  mine,  a  Doctor  of  Divinity  now — I  am  not  sure  but  he  was  then,  the 
crop  is  a  large  one — wrote  me  he  was  President  of  a  college  out  West,  a  col- 
lege under  the  patronage  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  that  his 
salary  was  $297  a  year.  Now,  brethren,  that  is  less  than  many  salesmen  in 
our  stores  and  foremen  in  our  factories  receive  every  month.  We  do  rather 
better  than  that  in  our  Eastern  colleges,  but  the  cost  of  living  is  higher. 

Brethren,  we  are  raising  up  an  educated  ministry  in  our  Church,  and  I 
think  the  time  will  come  before  long  when  we  shall  have  our  proper  repre- 
sentation among  the  chaplains  in  our  Navy  and  in  the  Regular  Armj';  and 
possibly  in  the  distant  future  we  may  even  have  a  chaplain  at  West  Point  or 
Annapolis.  It  is  certain  that  if  we  would  have  our  proper  place  and  influ- 
ence in  the  country,  as  was  said  much  better  by  Dr.  Loomis,  we  must  also 
have  educated  men,  not  only  in  the  pulpit,  but  in  all  departments  of  influ- 
ence. And  we  must  have  educated  lawyers  and  physicians,  and  engineers 
and  merchants,  educated  men  in  all  departments  of  life,  and  then  the  Metho- 
dist Church  will  but  have  her  proper  position,  socially  and  morally,  as  well 
as  spiritually. 

The  old  preachers  of  the  Methodist  Church  were  remarkable  for 
their  zeal  and  power,  and  for  their  love  of  souls,  but  now  the  peo- 
ple have  risen  to  a  higher  grade  of  intelligence  than  they  occupied 
a  century  since,  and  our  ministry  must  study  up  so  as  to  keep  in 
advance  of  the  people;,  just  as  a  teacher  must  keep  in  advance  of  his 
classes,  or  he  cannot  command  tht^ir  respect  or  retain  his  influence  over 
them.  I  remember  a  good  many  years  ago,  when  at  Carlisle,  trying  to  be  a 
professor  in  Dickinson  College,  there  was  a  young  man  there  in  the  grammar 
school  connected  with  that  institution,  a  very  zealous,  tall  young  man,  twenty 
or  twenty-one  years  of  age,  that  could  sing  at  the  prayer-meeting  with  great 
energy  and  power.  He  prayed  as  Elijah  advised  the  prophets  of  Baal,  lest 
their  God  might  be  asleep.  After  staying  three  or  four  months  in  the  gram- 
mar school  he  told  me  one  day  that  he  had  given  up  going  to  college  and  that 
he  was  going  into  the  work  of  the  ministry.  I  expressed  surprise  that  he 
was  in  such  haste.  "  Well,"  said  he,  "education  is  a  good  thing;  but  savintr 
souls  is  better."  He  left.  Other  young  men,  whose  call  to  preach  was  pro- 
bably as  loud  as  his,  remained  and  went  through  tiieir  collegiate  course  with 
honor,  and  of  the  number  who  were  in  college  just  about  the  same  time  one 
has  been  for  many  years  an  eminent  missionary  in  Ciiina,  and  another  is  the 
able  and  eloquent  President  of  Dickinson  College.  Which  of  these  has  had 
the  most  influence  in  saving  souls '!  But  I  fear  I  am  going  beyond  my  time, 
Mr.  President.  I  see  another  member  of  the  Faculty,  though  not  the  oldest 
Faculty  of  Dickinson  College,  for  he  is  a  young  man  yet,  but  he  has  been  in 
the  Faculty  of  Dickinson  College,  and  1  am  very  sure  every  one  present 
would  like  to  hear  him,  and  I  call  on  Dr.  Tiffany  to  come  and  finish  out  the 
very  poor  speech  I  have  made  ;  or  perhaps  he  will  make  a  better  one. 


86  MINUTES   OF   CONVENTION. 

Dr.  Tiffany,  being  called  for,  rose  and  said : 

I  really  think,  sir,  it  would  be  a  crime  in  me  to  occupy  the  time  of  this 
Convention  by  proceeding  from  the  gallery  down  into  the  body  of  the  house, 
merely  to  express  my  thanks  for  my  kind  recognition,  prompted  by  my  old 
teacher.  I  do  feel  very  grateful  for  this  recognition.  I  feel  it  to  have  been 
a  very  great  honor  to  have  been,  in  any  sense,  identified  with  the  college 
and  with  the  men  who  have  made  the  college  what  it  is  and  given  it  the  history 
it  has  recorded.  To  have  sat  under  the  instructions  of  John  P.  Durbin  is  an 
honor  and  a  source  of  enjoyment  and  profit,  brethren,  that  you,  who  have  so 
many  other  advantages  in  this  present  day,  might  earnestly  covet ;  and  to 
have  been  permitted  to  be  taught  by  a  man  who  can  make  no  better  speech 
than  the  one  to  which  we  have  listened  is  one  of  those  strange  things  that 
sometimes  affect  our  lives  so  curiously.  And  that  man  who  could  not  speak 
according  to  his  own  declaration,  and  by  his  own  exhibition,  has  done  more 
to  preach  Christ  and  11  im  crucified,  by  the  inspiration  which  he  has  put  into 
others  than  as  though  he  had  a  hundred  voices  and  had  used  them  during  a 
hundred  personal  lives. 

I  should  like  to  have  said,  in  a  different  presence — because  as  a  visitor 
I  feel  that  there  is  somewhat  of  an  intrusion  in  presuming  to  do  so  here — 
to  have  called  attention  to  one  of  the  very  many  excellent  things  embodied  in 
the  report  to  which  we  have  listened  this  morning.  There  is  one  thing  in 
that  report  so  expressed  that,  if  it  shall  strike  the  minds  of  others  not  now 
identified  with  our  educational  interests  as  active  co-operators,  will  have  a 
wonderful  influence.  I  allude  to  that  expression — and  1  fear  my  memory 
will  nut  enable  me  to  reproduce  it  with  the  aptness  with  which  it  is  given — 
i)f  the  relations  of  our  schools  to  the  (Church  and  of  the  Church  to  the 
■schools,  embodied  in  a  sentence  something  like  this,  "  That  the  relation  of 
the  school  to  the  Church  was  not  one  of  an  appendage,  but  an  integral  part, 
and  that  the  relation  of  the  Church  to  the  school  was  not  that  of  patronage, 
l)ut  of  proprietorship."  And  there  is  the  key,  it  seems  to  me,  to  unlock  all 
the  questions  that  liave  puzzled  us  somewhat  in  our  past  history.  There  is 
the  explanation,  in  its  partial  recognition  by  the  Church,  of  our  efficiency. 
There  is  tlie  promise  of  God's  ultimate  appropriation  by  the  Church  of  all 
the  Cliincii  liopes  for.  Let  the  colleges  learn  to  feel  that  they  are  a  part  of 
the  Church;  let  the  Churcli  come  to  feel  that  it  is  doing  its  own  work  from 
these  cultured  hands,  and  the  work  of  llie  Church  and  of  the  scliool  for  tlic 
accomplialimcut  of  one  purpose,  will  be  blessed  by  the  one  God  wlioso  inte- 
rests each  endeavors  partially  to  secure.  And  I  feel  that  in  that  utterance 
tiiere  has  been  given  to  inc  an  inspirution  which  would  have  repaid  me  for 
my  journey,  ajiart  from  your  courtesy  and  the  j)leasure  of  social  intercourse 
with  many  of  your  body. 

I  thank  you  most  heartily  for  the  kindness  with  which  you  have  acknow- 
ledged my  presence  among  you  and  received  me  as  your  brother,  co-worker, 
and  friend. 


ADDRESS  OF  REV.  JACOB  TODD.  87 

Rkv.  Jacob  Todd  arose,  and  said:  We  have  heard  from  the  older  men, 
and  from  Ihose  who  have  previously  been  connected  with  our  literary  and 
educational  institutions.  I  want  to  say  a  few  words  in  behalf  of  the  rank  and 
file  of  tliu  ministry. 

There  was  but  one  thing  in  that  very  able  and  eloquent  report  to  which  we 
have  listened  that  I  regretted,  and  that  was,  that  it  had  not  more  of  the  his- 
tory of  American  Methodism  in  if.  In  answering  the  charge  that  Metho- 
dism had  been  opposed  to  a  thorough  education,  the  essayist  referred  us  en- 
tirely to  the  position  assumed  by  the  founders  of  Methodism  in  England,  in 
relation  to  this  subject;  and,  of  course,  the  answer  was  masterly  and  con- 
clusive. I  regretted  that  other  topics  crowded  out  the  history  of  Methodism 
in  America  in  relation  to  this  question.  It  should  be  remembered  that  at 
the  very  first  General  Conference  Jield  on  this  continent,  Coke  and  Asbury 
represented  this  interest;  and  in  the  succeeding  year,  upon  the  road  leading 
from  Philadelphia  to  Baltimore,  laid  the  foundations  of  Cokesbury  College, 
so  named  in  honor  of  its  founders.  But  Methodism,  by  this  time,  had  be- 
come too  considerable  not  to  meet  with  opposition  from  its  enemies.  Ac. 
cordingly  before  this  college  had  completed  its  tenth  year  the  incendiary's 
torch  laid  it  in  ashes.  Not  discouraged  by  this  catastrophe,  they  re-estab- 
lished the  institution  in  Baltimore,  where  soon  again  it  was  burned.  A  few 
years  elapsed,  and  they  rebuilt  it  once  more  in  Baltimore,  and  this  time  called 
it  Asbury  College,  but,  sad  to  relate,  it  shared  the  same  melancholy  fate  that 
befell  its  predecessors.  These  repeated  calamities  were  interpreted  by 
Asbury,  erroneously  as  we  now  believe,  to  be  indicative  that  Providence  in- 
tended the  Church  should  spend  its  energies  in  other  directions,  and  hence, 
from  that  day  until  1825,  no  further  eflort  was  made  to  re-establish  this  in- 
stitution. In  1825  the  Church  took  courage  again  and  laid  the  foundations 
of  Augusta  College,  in  Kentucky.  In  1831,  Wesleyan  University  was  estab- 
lished in  Middletown,  Connecticut.  Right  under  the  shadow  of  institutions 
hoary  with  nge,  as  Yale  and  Harvard,  this  institution  grew  and  prospered, 
until,  within  a  few  years,  doubts  and  misgivings  as  to  its  future  are  all  at 
an  end.  The  Church  rallied  around  it,  thanked  God,  and  took  courage;  and 
from  that  hour  until  this,  we  have  every  few  years  been  adding  to  our  edu- 
cational institutions  until  to-day  they  dot  the  country  all  over.  In  1806  we 
had  25  Colleges  and  Universities  in  the  Church,  North,  and  12  Colleges 
in  the  Church,  South,  embracing  within  their  walls  G,500  aspirants  for  know- 
ledge; and  77  Academies  and  Seminaries  in  the  Church,  North,  and  as  many 
in  the  Church,  South,  within  whose  walls  are  gathered  25,500  youths,  fitting 
themselves  for  positions  of  honor  and  usefulness  in  the  country. 

After  a  record  like  this  we  can  boldly  look  in  the  face  those  who  have 
charged  us  with  being  opposed  or  indiflerent  to  thorough  education.  Let  it 
never  be  said  that  the  Methodist  Church  in  America  has  been  opposed  or 
indifferent  to  the  most  thorough  education.  Let  it  rather  be  said  of  our 
Methodism  that  she  was  born  in  a  university  and  that  her  whole  life  lias  been 
spent  in  the  most  untiring,  although,  until  recently,  but  comp  irativcly  fruitless 
efforts  to  educate  her  people  to  the  highest  standards. 


88  MINUTES   OF   CONVENTION". 

But  sir,  whatever  we  have  encountered  and  accomplished  in  the  past,  there 
is  more  for  us  to  do  and  to  dare  in  the  future.  A  new  era  is  dawning, 
a  broader  field  is  opening  upon  the  Church  to  re-enact  the  struggles  and  tri- 
umphs of  the  past  upon  a  ten-fold  grander  scale.  Time,  in  its  revolution, 
has  raised  the  people  to  a  higher  intellectual  level.  To-day  the  people  are 
thirsting  for  knowledge,  and  will  have  it.  The  apprentice,  tlie  plough-boy, 
and  the  school-boy,  are  reading  the  daily  newspapers,  and  are  familiar  with 
the  improvements  and  discoveries  of  the  age.  The  boy  of  to-day  at  twelve 
knows  more  of  science  than  did  his  great-grandfather  at  three-score  and 
ten.  We  have  common  schools,  it  is  true.  But  these  furnish  ouly  the  prin- 
ciples of  scientific  education,  which,  at  best  can  but  awaken  a  profounder 
yearning  for  the  higher  branches.  From  the  school-house  the  millions  are 
turning  their  gaze  to  the  Church  and  demanding  more  room  in  the  halls  of 
learning.  The  wants  of  the  age  and  the  demands  of  the  rising  generation 
both  require  that  we  should'take  a  higher  stand  in  relation  to  education  in 
the  future  than  in  the  past.  The  world  is  marching  onward,  and  if  we  don't 
keep  pace  with  it,  it  will  soon  leave  us  behind.  The  people  will  have  know- 
ledge, and  if  we  don't  respond  to  their  call  others  will.  The  Church  that 
furnishes  the  greatest  facilities  for  acquiring  a  thorough  education  must,  in 
the  nature  of  things,  become  the  educator  of  the  nation.  If  we  allow  others 
to  outstrip  us  in  sowing  the  seed,  we  must  not  be  surprised  if  they  reap  the 
more  abundant  harvest.  If  they  mould  the  mind,  they  will  control  the  heart 
of  tlie  nation;  and  then  although  we  may  glory  in  the  achievements  of  the 
past,  our  progress  will  be  nearly  at  an  end,  and  "Ichabod"  will  be  written 
over  the  doors  of  our  temples,  for  tlie  glory  of  the  Lord  will  have  departed. 
Depend  upon  it,  brethren,  the  converts  of  Methodism  will  not  come  from 
the  schools  of  another  faith.  We  trust  wo  are  not  bigoted  in  these  views  ; 
we  wish  all  other  institutions  well,  and  bid  them  God-speed  in  their  noble 
work,  but  we  cannot  but  believe  that  Methodism  can  and  ought  to  educate 
her  own  cliildren. 

But  not  only  must  we  take  a  higher  stand  in  order  to  retain  our  power 
over  the  masses,  but  we  must  educate  more  profoundly  in  order  to  grapple 
with  infidelity.  Time  has  not  only  changed  the  intellectual  status  of, the 
Cliurch  ;  it  has  also  changed  the  opposition  to  the  Church  ;  and  to-day,  we 
hear  no  inore  (if  tlie  ribaldry  of  Tom  I'aine,  or  the  sneering  irony  of  Voltaire. 
.Vfter  a  conflict  of  eiglitccn  hun<lred  years  infidelity  has  abandoned  its  at- 
tack upon  Christianity  upon  the  field  of  iiistorical  and  textual  criticism,  and 
now  niarslials  all  her  forces  for  one  tremendous  onset  tlirougii  tiie  physical 
sciences.  The  chemist  lias  alreuily  j)roduced  organic  compounds  and  is  now 
bending  over  the  crucible  in  the  Jiope  of  discovering  life  ilsi'lf.  Tlie  geolo- 
gist has  overturned  the  commonly  received  cosmogony  of  .Moses,  and  is  now 
probing  tlie  mountains  to  discover  fossil  remains  of  man  himself  more  than 
ft  million  years  oM.  Tin"  physiologist  threatens  to  (Umionstrate  tliat  life  is 
only  the  result  of  piiysical  organism,  and  lience  of  no  greater  loTigcvity  than 
the  body.  Hero  tlie  attack  is  about  to  be  madi",  and  here  we  must  meet  and 
repel  it,  if  it  is  reiielled  at  all.  We  have  no  fear  of  the  resiills.  We  believe 
in. ill  to  be  u  unit,  and  whether  revealed  through  God's  Word  or  works,    will 


ADDRESS   OF   REV.   JACOB   TODD.  89 

ahvnys  be  found  consistent  with  itself.  i5ut  the  Christian  must  be  educated 
in  order  to  understand  the  teachings  of  God'a  works:  we  must  understand 
them  in  order  to  expose  the  false  pretensions  of  the  skeptic  and  the 
infidel;  and  hence  we  must  educate,  and  eiliicate  profoundly,  if  we  would 
triumph  gloriously.  It  won't  do  to  let  the  intidel  work  out  the  problem  for 
us.  We  must  stand  at  his  side,  and  while  he  works  we  must  watch,  and 
when  we  work  let  him  watch  ;  and  then,  when  the  result  is  reached,  we  shall 
have  the  teaching  of  nature  upon  this  question;  and  we  have  nothing  to  fear 
from  her  teachings,  for  the  voice  of  nature  is  the  voice  of  God. 

I  see  I  have  already  exhausted  my  time,  and  conclude  simply   with  these 
remarks. 

On   motion,  the  time  of  the  .speaker  sva,s  extended,  and   he 
continued : 

Well,  then,  I  will  say,  we  must  educate  again  in  self-defence,  in  order  to 
retain  what  we  have,  without  looking  so  much  at  our  aggressiveness.  The 
Methodist  Church  is  emphatically  the  Church  of  the  people  ;  but  she  must 
not  forget  that,  in  order  to  retain  her  power  over  the  people,  she  must  keep 
pace  with  them.  We  are,  under  God,  a  great  Church,  in  a  great  country,  in 
a  great  ag<?,  and  we  must  not  forget  that  if  we  would  retain  our  power  in  the 
future,  as  we  have  had  it  in  the  past,  we  must  keep  pace  with  the  advance- 
ment of  the  present  age  and  country.  If  we  don't  furnish  facilities  for  edu- 
cation sufficient  to  meet  the  demands  of  this  age  and  country,  other  Churches 
will.  Your  sons  and  daughters  will  graduate  in  the  institutions  of  other 
Churches.  They  will  bring  home  to  your  firesides  a  strange  faith,  and  soon 
the  distinctive  features  of  Methodism  which  lie  so  near  our  hearts  will  be 
ignored  or  forgotten  by  your  children.  If  educated,  their  tastes  will  all  be 
for  educated  society;  their  associations,  therefore,  will  be  with  the  educated 
of  other  denominations,  and  it  will  not  be  strange  if,  when  they  come  to 
give  God  their  hearts  and  the  Church  their  hands,  we  should  find  them  in- 
scribing their  names  upon  the  records  of  that  Church  that  has  moulded  their 
minds  and  won  their  hearts.  If  we  would  retain  our  power  over  the  children 
of  Methodism  we  must  educate  them  within  the  bosom  of  Methodism.  It  is 
not  so  much  more  colleges  that  we  need  in  order  to  accomplish  this  work,  as 
it  is  belter  sustained  colleges— colleges  of  higher  grade.  We  have,  it  has 
been  said  by  the  essayist,  more  educational  institutions  in  this  country  than 
any  other  denomination,  but  it  will  be  admitted  by  all,  that  our  institutions 
are  not  all  of  as  high  grade  as  those  of  other  denominations.  I  have  been 
ashamed  to  see  two  young  men,  one  a  graduate  of  Harvard  or  Yale,  and 
another  of  Allegheny  or  Dickinson,  both  present  their  diplomas  and  ask  for 
some  position  in  a  literary  or  educational  institution,  and,  in  every  instance, 
the  preference  was  given  to  the  man  that  held  the  diploma  from  Yale  or 
Harvard.  It  is  high  time  that  we  placed  our  institutions  upon  a  level,  if 
not  a  little  above.  Harvard  and  Yale.  We  have  the  people  to  fill  them,  the 
money  to  endow  them,  the  learned  men  to  fill  their  chairs,  and  it  is  high  time 


90  MINUTES   OF   CONVENTION. 

we  rose  to  our  responsibilities  in  this  matter.  My  own  opinion  is — pei-liaps 
I  ought  not  to  express  it,  after  the  delicacy  of  the  essayist,  who  refused  to 
express  such  an  opinion — that  what  we  want  is  not  so  much  colleges  as  first- 
class  universities.  We  graduate  men  in  our  colleges,  and  then  send  them  to 
universities  under  the  direction  of  other  denominations  to  complete  their 
professional  education.  It  is  high  time  such  an  education  were  completed 
within  the  borders  of  Methodism.  Give  us  an  endowment  for  a  few  first- 
class  universities,  place  our  colleges  upon  a  higher  level,  and,  all  things  else 
being  equal,  the  future  of  Methodism  is  brighter  than  the  past.  Do  this, 
and,  with  the  torch  of  science  in  her  left  hand,  and  the  lamp  of  revelation  in 
her  right,  she  will  yet  light  unborn  millions  to  the  shrine  of  Jesus  Christ. 

Rev.  Dr.  Dashiell. — Now,  Mr.  President,  you  know  the  Methodist 
Church  has  faith  in  woman.  We  are  the  first  denomination  that  has  un- 
sealed the  lips  of  woman  to  tell  the  story  of  her  Chi-istian  life  and  to  be  felt 
as  a  Christian  power  in  the  midst  of  the  Church  and  of  society.  It  is  a  very 
befitting  thing,  sir,  that  we  should  recognize,  on  this  occ  vsion,  the  Female 
College  which  is  doing  so  much  for  Methodism  in  culturing  our  daughters 
and  preparing  noble  wives  for  us.     Sir,  I  thank  God  that  I  had  a  mother. 

We  have  present  with  us  this  morning  a  gentleman,  a  minister  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  who  occupies  a  prominent  position  in  this  department  of  Chris- 
tian education.  You  are  anxious  to  hear  him;  and  I  call  for  Dr.  Pershing, 
President  of  one  of  our  best  female  colleges,  who  has  given  fifteen  years  of 
his  life  to  a  demonstration  which  is  now  almost  perfected,  that  our  sisters 
and  daughters  ought  to  have  as  thorough  an  education  as  our  sons  and  our 
brothers. 

Rkv.  Dr.  Persuing — Mr.  President  and  Members  of  tlic  Convention:  This 
is  a  very  unexpected  call,  in  one  sense.  My  good  friend,  Dr.  Dashiell,  spoke 
to  me  a  few  minutes  ago  and  asked  nie  to  make  a  speech,  but  I  told  him  very 
emphatically  that  I  didn't  want  to  make  one  just  now,  and  tliat  for  the  very 
best  of  reasons,  that  I  had  no  speech  prepared.  I  did  intend  to  move,  be- 
fore we  had  a  final  vote,  the  insertion  of  just  one  or  two  words  in  one  of  the 
resolutions — the  resolution  that  contemplates  the  creation  of  a  fund  for  tiie 
education  of  young  men.  I  intended  to  suggest  "and  young  women."  I 
wish  to  say  just  here,  that  Dr.  Loomis  very  kindly  read  to  me,  yesterday, 
the  resolutions,  and  I  heartily  approved  tliem.  I  believe  the  Doctor  tried  to 
put  me  under  bonds,  at  the  time,  ami  1  tacitly  con.sented,  not  to  say  very 
much  about  Pittsburgh  Female  College,  but  he  adde<l  it  was  impossible  for  me 
to  speak  without  bringing  the  College  in.  1  am  going  to  keep  my  word  and 
not  say  much  about  it  ;  and  yet,  in  addressing  the  members  of  a  Convention, 
a  vast  majority  of  wliom  no  doubt  have  Christian  mulliers  and  wives — and 
the  rest  arc  looking  out,  no  do\ibt,  in  tiiat  direction — and  many  of  them 
Christian  sisters,  I  should  certainly  feel  tliat  1  hail  been  recreant  to  my 
truHt  if  I  did  not  say  a  single  word,  before  the  close,  touching  the  niMltcr  of 
female  c'lucation.  I  wish,  however,  to  pass  away  ft om  tliis  immhI  just  for  a 
moment.      I  uin  afraid,  in  tliis  Jiour  of  coiigraliibilion,  we  will  go  home  with 


ADDRESS   OF    REV.    Dl{.    PERSHING.  91 

!i  feeling  of  satisfaction  after  having  looked  over  the  past  and  marked  the 
wonderful  growth  of  our  Ciiurch  under  (Jod's  blessing  during  the  last  hun- 
dred years.  We  sometimes  look  over  these  statistics,  and,  instead  of  con- 
sidering what  we  ought  to  do  with  regard  to  the  present  and  future,  con- 
gratulate oui-selves  with  what  we  have  done,  and  there  the  matter  rests.  Now, 
it  seems  to  me  we  shall  fail  in  one  great  object  of  this  Convention  if  our  Church 
in  Pennsylvania  does  not  receive  a  fresh  impulse  to  start  her  forward  with 
increased  vigor  and  efficiency  in  the  future.  We  have  met  here  to  compare 
notes  touching  practical  questions,  and  among  them  this  question  of  Chris- 
tian education  ;  and  while  we  thank  God  this  morning  that  we  have  in  Penn- 
sylvania nine  educational  institutions,  yet  I  could  not  help  reflecting  upon 
this  fact,  that  Dickinson  College,  founded  in  1783,  I  believe,  and  now,  of 
course,  eighty-seven  years  old,  an  institution  that  can  boast  the  names  of 
McCliutock  and  Durbin,  and  hosts  of  others,  to  say  nothing  of  those  at 
present  identified  with  it,  has  the  paltry  pittance  of  less  than  $200,000  en- 
dowment, and  that  after  nearly  one  hundred  years  spent  in  tlie  cause 
of  Christian  education!  After  all,  brethren,  there  is  not  very  mucli  in  that 
fact  to  make  us  feel  we  have  done  our  whole  duty  as  a  Christian  Church,  and 
I  ought  to  say  here,  in  behalf  of  Drs.  Dashiell  and  Loomis,  that  I  have  not 
been  prompted  to  make  a  begging  speech  in  their  behalf.  It  may  be  that, 
after  a  long  experience  in  begging  for  churches,  I  naturally  fall  into  this 
train  of  thought,  and  it  will  be  very  appropriate  to  this  occasion. 

Then  I  turn  to  Allegheny  College.  Dr.  Loomis  has  modestly  us  given  the 
briefest  statement  with  regard  to  the  institution  under  his  care. 

Aftei"  a  brief  reference  to  the  liistory  of  tliis  College,  aud 
urging  a  more  liberal  endowment  of  our  educational  institutions, 
Dr.  Pershing  continued : 

I  want  to  see  some  universities  in  this  land.  I  want  to  see  institutions 
built  that  shall  overshadow  the  entire  country  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pa- 
cific, and  from  the  Lakes  to  the  Gulf.  The  Methodist  Church  has  the  men 
and  the  means,  under  God,  to  accomplish  this  result.  I  cannot  say  that  I 
want  to  see  institutions  of  a  lower  grade  multiplied.  I  think  we  have  enough 
of  them.  I  think  what  we  want  just  now  is  to  give  a  broader  basis,  and,  as 
has  been  said,  a  deeper  foundation,  to  the  institutions  that  we  have  at 
the  present  time.  We  want  more  money  for  them,  and  not  only  do  we  want 
the  money  of  the  Church,  but  we  want  the  sympathies  of  the  Church,  and 
the  prayers  of  the  Church,  and  the  active  efforts  of  the  Church,  that  all  our 
own  children  may  be  gathered  witliin  the  walls  of  our  own  schools,  and  just 
as  many  outsiders,  with  a  small  sprinkling  of  other  denominations,  as  we  can 
possibly  get  in  by  fair  means.  Our  good  Bishop  said  to  me  the  other  day, 
that  all  he  cared  for  was  to  educate  our  own  children.  I  want  to  get  in  as 
many  outsiders  as  we  can;  and  if  we  can  furnish  equal  facilities  and  oppor- 
tunities with  others,  we  will  not  only  educate  our  own  children,  but  a  larger 
proportion  of  outsiders  than  others. 

Now,    Mr.   President,  I  want  to  say   one   word  in  behalf  of  the  cause  for 


92  5IIXUTES   OF    CONVENTION. 

which  Dr.  Dashiell  called  me  out  :  and  I  say  it  without  any  apology  what- 
ever. I  ofiFer  no  apologies  for  pleading  in  behalf  of  the  daughters  of  the 
Church  and  of  the  land.  Many  a  time  my  own  heart  has  been  fired  while  I  have 
listened  to  my  biethren  speaking  of  the  sacrifices  and  toils  of  the  women  of  the 
Methodist  Church  in  behalf  of  the  Church's  progress  and  its  triumphs  up  to 
this  hour;  and  I  tell  you  this  morning  that  her  influence,  like  a  thread  of 
silver,  runs  all  through  the  history  of  the  Church.  I  spoke  to  two  ohl  men 
since  I  came  to  this  place,  and,  inquiring  after  their  wives,  learned  that  they 
were  both  far  poorer  in  health  than  themselves.  That  tells  the  whole  story. 
The  heaviest  burdens  have  fallen  upon  our  wives  as  itinerant  ministers. 
Woman  has  kneeled  at  our  altars,  wept  over  penitents,  prayed  for  them,  and 
pointed  them  to  the  Lamb  of  God  that  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world  ; 
she  has  borne  the  heaviest  burdens  of  our  itinerancy  and  carried  its 
heaviest  crosses;  and  in  this  natal  year  of  the  history  of  the  Church  we 
would  be  recreant  to  ourselves  and  all  that  is  right,  if  we  refused  to  lend 
a  helping  hand  to  the  daughters  of  our  land  in  securing  an  education. 
And  then  I  want  to  ask  you  this  morning,  what  will  your  boys  amount  to 
unless  your  daughters  are  cultured  and  refined?  You  commit  the  tuition 
of  the  whole  race  for  years,  and  the  most  impressible  years  of  life,  to 
women,  and  if  you  want  to  raise  up  a  cultured  and  refined  race  of  in- 
tellectual giants,  and  men  strong  in  God,  you  must  see  that  your  daughters 
are  cultured  and  that  their  hearts  are  right  before  God. 

At  Pittsburg  we  preach  Christ  as  well  as  teach  other  things,  and  God 
has  favored  us  in  that  institution  with  revivals  of  religion  that  embraced 
nearly  every  pupil  in  the  school.  We  aim  to  exalt  Christ,  and  we  will 
stand  by  you  in  all  your  work  and  liclp  you,  and  in  return  we  ask  you  to 
stand  by  these  institutions  and  let  us  make  them  stronger  and  better  in 
every  way  we  can,  that  they  may  have  the  confidence  of  the  Church  and 
do  their  appointed  work. 

Col.  WuroiiT — Mr.  President  and  gentlemen:  I  was  delighted  with  Dr. 
Loomis's  juldress,  and  I  like  very  much  what  he  said  about  the  right  kind  of 
education;  and  think  if  we  could  bring  all  the  people  in  the  country,  as  well 
as  all  Methodists,  to  thoroughly  understand  and  appreciate  it,  and  all  were 
in  a  condition  of  life  to  avail  themselves,  what  a  grand  time  the  world 
would  have.  But  tlicii  I  thought  to  myself,  all  the  men  in  the  world  are  not 
cultured,  all  tlie  men  in  the  world  cannot  have  this  high  style  of  education, 
because,  if  they  did,  we  would  have  no  workmen.  Tiiey  would  all  be  writing 
books  and  digging  down  into  the  earth  to  find  what  was  there;  thoy  would 
be  scientists,  philosophers,  etc.,  and  we  would  not  have  any  rank  or  file  at 
all — all  would  be  brigadier-generals.  'I'his  is  a  very  ))r!i(;ti(;al  ijueslidii,  and 
while  all  he  said  was  true,  all  dcsii-ahlc,  all  bascij  on  the  ri;^lil  t'niinilaliiiu, 
yet  as  all  cannot  bo  brigadier-generals,  we  must  so  adapt  our  education  as 
to  reach  the  largest  number  and  do  tiie  most  good.  This  is  the  practical 
view.  Now  then,  when  we  listen  to  persons  talking  as  we  have  to-day,  so 
very  pleasantly,  about  what  tlie  ('iiurcii  ought  to  do,  the  schools  she  ought 
to  liavc,  the   proftssors  ehc  ought  to  liavc,  etc.,  ami  what   the  Church  ought 


SPEECH   OF   COL.    WRIGHT.  93 

to  do  in  the  way  of  educating  lier  people,  it  always  comes  back  to  nie  to  ask 
whether  we  have  not  commenced  at  the  wrong  end.  We  should  first  educate 
the  people  to  desire  an  education.  Now  if  our  people  all  desired  an  educa- 
tion, and  appreciated  the  advantage  of  it,  then  there  would  be  a  rush  on  the 
Church  for  the  means  of  education,  and  the  Church  then  would  very  much 
more  liberally  give  to  the  cause  of  education  than  in  the  way  it  is  now  done, 
which  is  to  build  and  endow  a  university  before  the  people  understand  and  ap- 
preciate the  necessity  of  having  one. 

Another  thing  that  I  often  think  of.  I  look  around  at  tlie  numbers  in 
colleges  and  try  to  ascertain  why  our  colleges  are  not  fuller — because  the 
number  of  students  in  the  colleges  of  this  country  has  not  advanced  at  all  as 
the  population.  While  the  population  of  the  country  is  becoming  more  in- 
telligent from  year  to  year,  yet  universities  and  colleges  are  not  increasing 
in  numbers  in  proportion.  Not  that  the  people  undervalue  education;  they 
value  it  more  highly.  But  yet  the  fact  stands  out  that  there  are  not  the 
numbers  entering  our  colleges  that  there  ought  to  be,  in  proportion  to  the 
population. 

The  reason  of  that  it  seems  to  me — and  I  have  thought  of  it  for  a  number 
of  years — is  because  college  studies  have  not  been  adapted  to  the  wants  of 
the  people,  and  the  people  have  appreciated  this  fact  and  have  not  sent  their 
children  ;  it  has  worked  in  this  way  :  Here  is  a  man  who  has  a  family.  He 
does  not  expect  his  son  to  become  a  minister,  a  lawyer,  of  a  physician;  but 
a  merchant,  a  manufacturer,  a  farmer,  or  to  engage  in  some  ordinary  em- 
. ployment  of  life.  And  the  question  comes  up  to  him,  is  a  collegiate  educa- 
tion suited  for  my  son?  Will  it  fit  him  for  the  position  that  he  expects  to 
fill  in  life?  and  he  looks  over  the  matter  and  says,  No!  and  so  contents  him- 
self with  giving  his  son  an  inferior  education  to  what  he  ought  to  have. 
Now  this  has  been  one  of  the  great  secrets,  in  addition  to  the  indifference  of 
our  people  to  the  value  of  education,  why  we  have  not  had  a  larger  number 
in  our  colleges. 

Now  then,  all  I  have  to  say  is  that  our  colleges  are  beginning  to  appreciate 
the  demands  of  the  age  ;  they  are  beginning  to  see  the  importance  of  teaching 
and  preparing  men  for  all  the  walks  of  life  ;  and  as  they  come  more  fully  to 
meet  the  requirements  of  the  times  they  will  be  more  largely  patronized  and 
sustained,  they  will  be  more  liberally  endowed;  and  we  may  then  shout  our 
hallelujahs  over  them. 

Rev.  a.  J.  Kynett,  D.  D. — I  feel  that  I  ought  almost  to  beg  pardon  for 
asking  the  attention  of  the  Convention,  even  for  a  very  few  moments.  But  I 
wish  to  call  attention  to  a  fact  which  has  impressed  my  mind,  and  which 
seems  to  have  escaped  the  attention  of  others, — at  least,  it  has  received  no 
attention  on  the  floor  of  this  Convention. 

When  I  came  to  Philadelphia  three  yeirs  ago,  the  population  of  the  city 
was  about  equal  to  that  of  the  entire  State  from  which  I  came, — the  State  of 
Iowa  ;  and  yet  I  found  no  Methodist  school  of  any  grade  in  all  this  city, 
while  in  Iowa  they  had  four  Methodist  Colleges,  and  I  cannot  tell  how  many 
seminaries  and  schools  of  lower  grade.     I  am  aware  of  the  fact  that  the  West 


94  MINUTES   OF   COXVENTIOX. 

in  its  enthusiasm  in  the  cause  of  education  has  gone  to  extremes  in  the 
number  of  institutions  it  has  attempted  to  build — at  least  so  far  as  the  wants 
of  the  present  population  are  concerned.  But  if  we  expect  to  educate  tlie 
children  of  the  masses,  we  must  place  the  facilities  for  education  within  the 
reach  of  the  masses.  There  are  to-day,  in  these  four  Iowa  Colleges,  about  a 
thousand  students.  I  know  these  colleges  are  imperfectly  endowed;  their 
presidents  and  professors  are  living  on  very  inadequate  salaries,  and,  in  some 
instances,  getting  only  a  fraction  of  the  amount  the  trustees  agreed  to  pay 
them;  but  I  know  too,  that  we  have  young  men,  of  fine  natural  endowments, 
acquiring  liberal  culture  in  these  schools,  coming  up  to  be  strong  men  for  the 
cause  of  Christ  in  future  years.  I  am  aware  that  a  large  city  is  not  general- 
ly regarded  as  the  best  place  for  a  college ;  perhaps  it  is  not, — that  is  a 
question  that  I  don't  propose  to  enter  into  at  all,  but  I  want  to  call  atten- 
tion to  the  fact  that  here  is  a  city  of  eight  hundred  thousand  inhabitants, 
and  in  that  part  of  Pennsylvania  that  lies  within  one  hundred  miles  of  Phil- 
adelphia, a  region  comprising  as  I  suppose  as  large  a  population  as  the 
whole  State  of  Iowa  has  to-day,  there  is  no  school  of  any  grade  under  the 
control  of  tlic  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  I  call  attention  to  this  fact,  not 
for  the  purpose  of  instituting  invidious  comparisons,  but  for  the  purpose  of 
awakening  inquiry,  that  members  of  the  Convention  residing  within  this  por- 
tion of  the  State  may  inquire  whether  the  Providence  of  God  will  not  lead 
them  to  do  something  for  the  cause  of  education  by  establishing  a  college  or 
seminary  within  striking  distance  of  this  great  city. 

Rev.  Da.  George  Peck. — I  have  not  time  to  give  even  a  slight  idea  of  the 
efforts  of  the  Conference  which  I,  in  part,  represent  here  upon  the  subject  of 
education.  Our  seminary  is  iu  successful  operation,  having  arisen  from 
small  beginnings  by  the  subscriptions  of  individuals.  God  has  given  us  a 
very  wealthy  country  there,  and  we  have  wealthy  men.  AVhen  brought  into 
the  Church  they  have  given  to  support  this  institution  until  it  has  become  a 
power  in  that  part  of  Pennsylvania,  and  at  the  present  time,  sir,  if  the  sta- 
tistics of  the  iiistory  of  that  institution  were  given,  it  would  be  seen  that  it 
has  conferred  a  larger  benefit  iipoii  the  masses  than  any  other  literary  in- 
stitution whatever  in  the  northern  part  of  the  State,  and  I  don't  know  but 
in  any  other  part.  It  has  reached  the  masses,  the  young  people,  the  boys 
and  girls.  All  through  the  country  wliich  I  traveled,  formerly  you  would 
find  the  young  people  outlandish,  uneducated,  ignorant,  living  in  log  cabins; 
we  have  tliere  now  flourishing,  wealthy  farmers,  rising  up  and  aslonisiiing 
everybody.  In  tiie  mountains,  in  gorges,  upon  the  small  flats,  and  in  all  the 
houses  wc  have  put  the  old  text-books  of  Wyoming  Seminary  upon  tlio  shelf, 
and  ue  find  a  cultivated  rising  populatiiui.  We  Inive  I'uriiishi'd  there  sciiool 
teachers  for  the  nuisses  all  over  tlie  country,  and  preacliers,  lawyers,  physi- 
cians, officers  in  the  army,  and  soldiers  of  the  rank  and  file  of  the  army,  that 
hcM  our  glorious  union  together,  and  finally  resullccl  inlriuiiipli  over  the 
rebellion.  This  institution  comes  inid  much  inore  direct  contact  with  the 
inasHCH  than  our  colleges.  It  seems  to  me  it  meets  the  want  expressed  by 
Col.  Wright. 


RESOLUTIONS   ON    EDUCATION.  95 

Rkv.  George  Loomis,  I).  D..  presented  in  behalf  of  the  comniiltee  (lie  fol- 
lowing resolutions,  which  were  adopted,  viz: 

Resolved  1.  That  it,  is  ihe  sense  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  the 
State  of  Pennsylvania  now  in  Convention  assembled,  that  sound  learning  is 
in  harmony  with  the  genius  and  spirit  of  Metliodiiini,  and  essential  to  ibe 
higher  life  and  consecration  of  the  Church. 

Resolved  2.  That  sound  learning  should  be  sanctified  by  a  sound  faith.  To 
accomplish  tiiis  our  colleges  and  seminaries  should  be  centres  of  the  highest 
and  truest  Christian  culture. 

Resolved  Z.  That  to  render  the  universal  attainment  of  souml  learning 
possible,  the  founding  of  literary  institutions  of  various  grades  is  a  work 
legitimate  to  the  mission  of  Methodism. 

Resolved  4.  That  it  is  the  duty  of  the  Church  by  liberal  donations  to  estab- 
lish the  Methodist  Seminaries  of  Pennsylvania  on  a  broader  basis,  and  ren- 
der them  more  efficient  in  their  work  of  Christian  education. 

Resolved  5.  That  the  honor  and  future  of  Methodism  demand  an  immediate 
response  to  the  call  of  our  colleges  fur  increased  facilities  and  endowments 
to  tiie  enlargement  of  the  departments  of  instruction,  and  for  the  generous 
support  of  men  who  have  consecrated  their  lives  and  the  wealth  of  their  at- 
tainments, to  the  cause  of  liberal  education  in  the  Church  of  their  choice. 

Resolved  6.  That  in  view  of  the  sacred  obligations  of  stewardship  under 
God's  government,  wo  urgently  recommend  our  rich  men  to  consecrate  u 
portion  of  their  wealth  to  the  objects  indicated  above. 

Resolved  7.  That  we  commend  our  Institutions  of  learning  to  all  Methodist 
parents,  and  urge  upon  them  the  imperious  duty  of  educatiug  their  sons  and 
daughters  even  at  a  sacrifice  to  themselves, — giving  the  preference  to  Meth- 
odist seminaries  and  colleges. 

Resolved  8.  That  we  recommend  to  our  young  men  contemplating  the  work 
of  the  ministry  a  full  collegiate  education. 

Resolred  9.  That  we  recommend  the  establishment  of  a  fund  to  aid  such 
young  men  as  need  assistance  in  securing  such  an  education,  and  young 
ladies  who  desire  to  enter  the  missionary  work  of  the  Church. 

Resolved  10.  That  we  deplore  the  growing  sentiment  among  the  young, 
especially  in  our  large  cities,  that  wealth  is  the  great  object  of  life, — a  senti- 
ment which  leads  so  many  to  decline  a  collegiate  education,  as  detaining 
them  too  long  from  what  seems  to  be  their  only  chcrislicd  purpose, — we 
commend  to  such  the  suggestion  that  there  are  duties  and  obligations  grow- 
ing out  of  their  relations  to  society  and  the  Church  to  the  performance  of 
which  the  discipline  and  culture  of  a  thorough  education  afford  no  mean 
helps. 

On  motion  adjourned. 
Benediction  by  Dr.  A.  Wheeler. 


96  MIXUTES   OF   CONVENTION. 


SEVENTH  SESSION. 

St.  George's  M.  E.  Church,  Philadelphia. 

Thursday  Afternoon,   October  20th. 

The  Convention  met  according  to  adjournment  at  2|  o'clock. 

Bishop  M.  Simpson,  D.  D.,  in  the  chair. 

Religious  services  conducted  by  Dr.  S.  H.  Nesbitt,  of  Pitts- 
burg. 

The  Minutes  of  the  morning  session  were  read  and  approved. 

The  Committee  on  Credentials  made  their  report,  which  was 
adopted  without  reading. 

Rev.  T.  A.  Fernley,  of  Philadelphia,  offered  the  following 
resolution,  which  was  adopted,  viz. 

Resolved,  That  a  Committee  of  one  from  eacli  Conference  represented  iu 
this  Convention  be  appointed  to  consider  the  matter  of  holding  another  State 
Convention,  and  to  determine  both  the  time  and  place. 

The  following  were  appointed  the  committee  called  for  by  the 
above  resolution,  viz. 

Rev.  T.  A.  Fernley,  of  the  Philadelphia  Conference. 
"      S.  H.  Nesbitt,  D.  D.,  of  the  Pittsburgh  Conference. 
"      Y.  C.  Smith,  D.  D.,        "     Wyoming        " 
"      Nirom  Norton,  "     Erie  " 

"      I.  H.  Torrence,  "     Central  Pa.,     " 

"      C.  L.  F.  Howe,  "     East  Cxen.        " 

"      J.  J.  F.  Brunow,  "        "    Ger.  " 

The  Chtiir  announced  the  Topic  of  the  afternoon  to  be, — '^  The 
Public  School  Question." 

Committee. — Rev.  A.  Wheeler,  D.  D.,  Rev.  J.  Walker  Jack- 
son and  P.  W.  Siiaeirer,  Est^. 

Rev.  Ur.  Wheeler  of  the  Erie  C/onference  i)resented  and  read 
the  essay  on  this  Topic. 

Essay  of  Jvkv.  A.   \Vjieei>eu,  D.  D. 

The  Pimii.k;  Scikioi,  Qiikstion. 
Altlioiif^li    tlie  age   is  a  critical  one,  and  therefore  full  nf  propositions  to 
chanf^e,  and    also  of  propositions    carried  into  effect,  yet  we    have    siijiposed 
there  were  some  things  settled  as  principles,  and  some  things  fixed  as  institu- 


ESSAY   OF   REV.    A.    WHEELER,    I).    I).  97 

tions.  We  have  regaraed  the  alliance  of  Church  and  State  as  vicious  beyond 
argument;  and  the  institution  of  a  State  Church  as  being  dangerous  alike  to 
thefreedomof  the  State,  and  integrity  and  purify  of  the  Church. 

The  doctrine  still  holds  in  the  generiil  convictions  of  the  people;  but  the 
practice  has  nearly  overlaid  the  theory  in  some  places,  and  we  see  in  fact, 
what  our  fathers  thought  an  impossibility,  and  against  which  they  construct- 
ed constitutional  bulwarks,  namely,  ecclesiastical  institutions  sustained  by 
prodigal  State  expenditure. 

This  contradiction  to  a  doctrine,  vital  in  its  observances  to  our  State  econo- 
my, not  only  reveals  the  presence  of  a  power  hostile  to  the  genius  of  our  Go- 
verument,  but  also  shows  it  capable  of  making  headway  against  constitutional 
provisions,  and  also  against  habits  and  prejudices,  stronger  often  than  laws; 
and  further,  gives  us  a  clew  l)y  which  to  divine  the  ultimate  designs  of  the 
po>ver  itself. 

AVe  have  supposed  that  the  doctrine  of  education,  general  education,  uni- 
versal education,  was  settled  beyond  recall,  and  even  beyond  re-examination 
Education,  not  by  the  parent  alone,  but  by  the  State  as  well,  and  with  the 
more  care  by  the  State  should  there  be  parental  neglect.  This  doctrine  is  not 
new  to  us  ;  it  was  believed  in  by  our  fathers,  and  taught  to  us  by  them.  It 
accompanied  the  freedom  they  brought  with  them  to  these  shores.  They 
landed  together,  and  togetlier  began  the  circuit  of  the  continent  in  fellowship. 
The  unity  preserved  both  shall  live ;  lost,  both  shall  die.  They  are  mutually 
life-sustaining.  The  tlieory  of  univei'sal  education  rests  with  us  now  upon  a 
claim  as  it  regards  man,  and  a  fact  as  it  regards  our  Government,  and  an- 
other claim  springing  out  of  this  fact.  The  claim  is  that  all  men  are  en- 
dowed with  intellectual  faculties  which  may  be  developed  by  education.  The 
esoteric  and  the  exoteric  teachings  of  the  old  philosophers  have  been  firmly 
rejected,  and  peremptorily  dismissed.  A.  man  in  rags  is  a  man.  A  man  in 
purple  is  nothing  more.  Alter  the  circumstances,  and  the  rags  and  the 
purple  may  change  places.  The  right  of  both  is  knowledge.  Truth  is  the 
inheritance  of  each;  given  of  God.  When  either  is  restrained  by  power 
from  coming  into  his  inheritance,  he  is  defrauded,  robbed.  When  kept  out 
of  it  by  neglect  of  warden,  both  keeper  and  kept  must  suffer  the  inevitable 
results  of  the  betrayal  of  duty.  This  is  the  broad  platform  upon  whicli  the 
education  o{  all  must  rest,  and  where  it  may  rest  in  safety. 

Tiie  fact  of  which  I  spoke  is,  that  our  Government  is  republican.  No  class 
governs  jure  divino.  The  people  rule  themselves.  They  are  the  fountain  of 
civil  authority,  and  also  the  court  of  ultimate  appeal.  Yet  not  so  as  to  deny 
Divine  authority,  or  to  substitute  human  tribunals  for  God's;  but  witli  them 
lie  the  methods,  and  modes,  and  times,  for  the  application  of  Divine  princi- 
ples to  the  government  of  men,  and  the  judgment  whether  sucii  application 
has  been  appropriately  made  after  taking  the  counsel  furnished  by  the  his- 
tory of  centuries,  and  illustrated  by  a  thousand  states.  Tliis  form  of  govern- 
ment we  do  adhere  to  most  firmly  and  conscientiously.  The  firmness  with 
which  we  adhere  to  it  found  its  expression  in  the  persistency  and  sacrifice 
with  which  we  waged  the  late  war,  unparalleled  in  magnitude  and  severity  ; 
the  conscientiousness  found    in  every  worshiping  assembly,  and    every  band 

7 


98  MINUTES  OF   CONVENTIOX. 

of  praying  souls,  which  while  asking  the  blessing   of  Heaven  to  rest  upon 
them,  never  forgot  to  ask  the  Great  Ruler  to  save  the  Republic. 

In  our  belief,  any  one  that  aids  the  destruction  of  this  our  Commonwealth 
commits  treason  against  humanity  ;  any  one  that  fails  to  expose  the  arm  up- 
lifted to  strike  an  adverse  blow  is  guilty  of  misprision  of  treason,  if  cognizant 
of  the  intended  mischief.  This  is  more  than  a  theory  with  us  ;  we  have  ele- 
vated it  to  the  position  of  a  doctrine;  and  conscience  fences  it  round  about, 
and  keeps  guard  over  it  with  all  the  authority  of  her  great  sanctions. 

Whatever  may  be  the  teachings  of  the  thoughtless  or  the  skeptical  con- 
cerning the  origin  of  governments,  with  the  true  American,  ours  is  a  reli- 
gious conviction  embodied  in  vast  proportions,  and  consecrated  by  years  of 
unmatched  national  prosperity  and  happiness,  and  now  h.allowcd  by  heca- 
tombs of  martyrs.  Should  the  religious  convictions  of  others,  foreign  in 
spirit  to  its  nature  and  intent,  seek  to  overthrow  it  by  rapid  or  slow  processes, 
they  must  be  met  by  such  measures,  and  in  such  degree,  as  may  be  requi- 
site to  their  hopeless  defeat.  The  man  who  holds  property  by  conscientious 
right  may  not  give  way  to  him  who  steals  by  conscience. 

The  further  fact  of  which  I  spoke,  growing  out  of  the  nature  of  our  Go- 
vernment, it  being  a  representative  democracy,  is  this,  General  education  is 
necessary,  not  only  to  the  higlicst  development,  and  most  beneficent  work- 
ing of  republican  institutions,  but  necessary  to  their  security,  to  their  exis- 
tence. This  is  not  assumption,  but  a  logic  which  all  pliilosophy  supports, 
and  all  history  turning  upon  the  proposition  illustrates. 

This  general  judgment,  which  may  be  called  national,  we  have  regarded  as 
incapable  of  modification,  much  less  of  a  reversal,  and  as  constituting  the 
basis  on  which  our  public  schools  might  stand,  till  tlic  time  shall  come, 
against  which  may  God  forefend  us,*  wherein  we  shall  be  ready  to  exchange 
our  freedom  for  absolutism.  It  cannot  be  said  that  any  one  is  bold  enough  to 
bring  forward  the  bald  proposition  of  breaking  down  our  national  system  of 
education.  Yet  such  changes  are  demanded,  and  with  a  persistency  that 
proves  those  making  the  demand  to  be  in  earnest,  as  requires  at  our 
heads  a  thoughtful  consideration  and  strenuous  resistance,  until  satis- 
fied, that  if  acceded  to,  our  institutions  will  suffer  no  damage  there- 
by. The  change  might  seem  slight,  and  yet  in  the  bowels  of  the  woodtn 
horse  the  invincible  Greeks  may  lie  concealed.  Indeed,  many  think  it 
equivalent  to  abandoning  our  system  of  public  instruction  allogelhcr.  .■\t 
first  the  exclusion  of  tlic  Bible  from  the  schools  was  required,  for  conscience' 
sake,  and  nn  tlic  ground  that  its  use  gave  undue  and  illegal  advantage  to 
some  sect  or  sects.  If  here  many,  for  the  sake  of  peace,  favored  compliance, 
the  requisition  was  enlarged,  and  ccclesia.stical  schools,  supported  at  public 
expense,  were,  and  are,  demanded.  Unless  this  b<;  done  the  sciiools  are  god- 
less, and  conscience  is  hurt  again.  Tiiis  l.isl  i)iiase  of  the  question  reveals 
the  real  intent  of  tiiat  class  of  opposers  of  our  present  plan  of  general  educa- 
tion, which  is  tlie  most  numerous  and  powerful. 

Tlie  gift  of  jirophecy  is  not  needed  to  forecast  the  results  of  compliance 
with  tliid  outrageous  demand,  made  in  the  main  hy  the  foreign-horn,  and 
those  alien  in  spirit  to  the  genius  of  our  government,  and   wlio,    (hougii    so- 


ESSAY   OF   REV.    A.    WHEELER,    D.    I).  fJJJ 

lemnly  sworn  to  support  and  defend  the  Constitution  of  liie  country  and  the 
Bovereignty  of  the  Commonwealth,  acknowledge  such  an  allegiance  loa  foreign 
power  as  makestheir  oaths  void,  and  stamps  them  with  perjury  from  the  outset. 

If  separate  Catholic  schools  were  thus  established  by  law,  and  sustained 
by  public  taxation,  the  fundamental  law  of  the  land  would  be  violated,  un- 
less the  same  provision  were  made,  and  equal  in  generosity,  for  tlie  support 
of  schools  of  every  other  corporation  that  might  see  fit  to  call  itself  leligious. 
Can  any  doubt,  in  such  an  event,  that  ere  long  every  denomination,  religious 
and  semi-religious,  and  anti-religious,  covering  their  anti-religion  with  reli- 
gious phrases,  will  exact  equality  before  the  law,  and  a  proportionate  public 
largess  to  maintain  their  separate  interests?  And  will  the  public  be  pre- 
pared to  turn  a  deaf  ear  to  the  exaction,  after  having  so  attentively  con.-ji- 
dered  it  in  one  case,  and  so  obsequiously  granted  it? 

A  precedent  will  be  set  that  must  be  recalled  amid  violent  agitations,  or 
that  will  issue  in  the  establishment  of  Episcopal  schools,  and  Presbyterian 
schools,  Methodist  schools,  and  Baptist  schools,  and  Unitarian  schools,  and 
Trinitarian  schools,  and  Mormon  schools,  and  even  Infidel  schools,  if  their 
articles  of  organization  be  but  interlarded  with  a  few  religious  words,  and 
so  on  to  the  end  of  the  chapter,  and  steadily  responding  to  every  enlarge- 
ment of  the  list.  And  indeed  what  logic  could  withstand,  if  it  were  demand- 
ed, the  establishment  of  class  schools,  based  upon  secular  callings,  con- 
science being  pleaded,  if  this  pernicious  principle  were  ever  adopted  ?  Blind 
eyes  can  see  educational  confusion  and  chaos  coming  out  of  this,  school  teachers 
disbanded,  school-houses  emptied,  a  healthful  education  displaced  for  su- 
perstitions mummery,  ani  ignorance  in  the  end  everywhere  installed.  In 
large  cities  denominational  schools  might  be  maintained  ;  but  what  of  the 
small  towns  and  rural  districts?  Education  in  these  must  be  given  up,  and 
that  finally  would  be  to  surrender  our  country  and  her  glorious  future  to 
the  enemies  of  truth  and  freedom.  Denominational  schools  upon  any  effec- 
tive plan,  even  in  the  largest  cities,  must  at  last  succumb  to  the  interminable 
contests  for  access  to  the  public  treasury,  and  the  crowning  manipulation  of 
demagogues.  One  denomination,  more  artful  in  politics,  and  more  skilful  in 
concentrating  its  strength  than  the  others,  holding  in  the  hands  of  ecclesias- 
tics, its  adherents,  as  the  hunter  holds  his  leash  of  hounds,  might  survive  ; 
but  it  would  be  at  the  expense  of  the  life  of  the  rest.  Can  there  be  any 
doubt  that  Catholics  themselves  foresee  these  results?  Can  any  doubt  wlio 
have  read  the  late  syllabus  of  the  Pope,  and  the  scheme  as  published  for  the 
consideration  of  the  CEcumenical  Council,  the  real  source  of  the  inspiration 
of  the  present  movement  against  our  public  schools?  It  comes  from  the  Vati- 
can. To-day,  Americans  are  condemned  to  the  humiliation  of  resisting  changes, 
which,  if  effected,  will  prove  the  ruin  of  an  institution  vital  to  national  safety; 
dictated  by  an  octogenarian  four  thousand  miles  away ;  and  who  is  the  Head  of 
an  establishment,  the  doctrine  of  whicli  is  that  ignorance  is  the  mother  of  de- 
votion. 

That  the  design  of  the  Catholic  Church  is,  to  break  down  the  public 
schools,  is  fully  admitted  by  some,  who  we  have  a  right  to  assume  speak 
authoritatively,  though  a  little  unguardedly.  Yet  an  able  writer  in  the 
"Catholic  World  "  speaks  otherwise,  advocating  their   continuance,  upon  a 


100  MINUTES   OF   CONVENTION. 

Catholic  and  Protestant  basis.  He  classes  all  as  Protestants,  who  are  not 
Catholics,  of  whatever  name  and  faith.  He  provides  against  such  a  multi- 
plicity of  schools  as  I  have  supposed,  by  requiring  all  non-Catholics  to  edu- 
cate together.  They  can  do  so  without  conscience  interfering,  for  they  do 
it  now  without.  Yet  a  difficulty  is  seen  in  the  case  of  the  Jew,  and  if  he 
asks  upon  grounds  of  conscience  for  distinct  schools,  they  must  be  organized 

for  hi  111. 
No  embarrassment,  however,  is  felt  from  the  Infidel  side,  for,  forsooth,  the  In- 
fidel is  without  a  conscience,  and  therefore  destitute  of  rights  in  this  matter. 
To  treat  a  great  public  interest  so  flippantly,  is  unbecoming  its  admitted  gra- 
vity. To  advance  a  psychology  so  false,  betrays  a  leadership  that  it  is  un- 
safe to  follow.  The  manifestation  of  so  uncharitable  a  spirit,  suggests  the 
application,  as  of  old,  of  the  same  dogma  to  all  non-Catholics,  when  it  may  be 
done  with  safety.  However  much  we  may  deplore  it,  the  infidel  element  in 
our  country  is  a  fact  that  cannot  be  overlooked  in  adopting  measures  for  the 
public  welfare. 

It  is  large,  and  before  the  close  of  the  century  will  be  larger  still.  If 
Catholics  could  have  their  way,  by  that  time,  it  would  be  strong  enough  to 
repeat  some  of  the  lessons  of  1789.  To  fail  to  attach  them  to  the  State  by 
the  same  nurture  that  she  applies  to  the  children  of  faith,  would  be  a  neglect, 
that  a  wise  statesmanship  will  not  make.  By  so  doing  the  country  would 
convert  thousands  of  her  own  sons  into  enemies,  and  intensify  their  hate  of 
religion  besides.  Enemies  more  unrelenting  could  not  be  made,  for  who 
80  implacable  as  he  that  is  orphaned  by  rejection  without  competent  cause? 
Adopt  this  policy,  then,  of  separate  schools,  and  you  must  establish  infidel 
ones  also  of  every  grade,  from  the  atheism  of  the  Encyclopaedists,  to  the  ra- 
tionalism of  Hegel,  stopping  not  till  you  have  employed  instructors  that  shall 
teach  the  children  of  the  country  Comptism,  as  the  last  and  most  glorious 
Evangel  that  is  ever  to  bless  humanity.  That  is  if  these  things  are  required. 
Who  does  not  see  in  all  this  the  ruin  of  our  educational  policy,  our  boast  for 
so  many  years,  and  our  praise  in  tlie  ends  of  the  earth?  And  how  shall  you 
cherish  the  democracy  now  fostered  in  our  common  schools,  then  lost,  wliich 
constitutes  so  needful  a  bond  for  the  future  unity  of  the  State?  Separate  the 
various  nalioM;ilitics  represented  in  American  life  in  their  daily  education, 
and  homogeneity  of  population  becomes  impossible.  Its  absence  is  ruin. 
Separate  education  of  the  religious  classes  is  equally  vicious. 

Tiie  demand  when  made  by  Catholics  is  refreshing  from  its  sheer  impudence. 
A  large  per  cent,  of  the  paupers  and  criminals,  the  thieves  and  murderers, 
the  drunkard.s  and  rubbers,  the  rioters  and  convicts  of  the  country,  receive 
absolution  from  Catholic  lips.  Tiie  degnulation  of  the  land  is  Catholic. 
We  pay  taxes  to  arrest  it,  and  try  it,  and  convict  it,  and  defend  uurselvcs 
from  ii.  and  then  are  asked,  nay  rciuircd,  to  pay  our  money  to  maintain  the 
very  schools  that  cherish  it,  or  show  ihemsolves  incapable  of  doing  anything 
better  than  to  turn  off  their  pupils  to  prey  upon  liie  peace  and  security  of 
society.  Allowing  them  to  subslitute  their  own  schools,  for  the  i-uhlic 
Hchools,  in  iIm>  edu.iiiinn  oCllirii- .liildren,  is  a  policy  subject  to  severe  criti- 
cism, and  ju.Mlihal.le  only    upui,   the  do.^trine  of  the  widest  toleration.     And 


ESSAY   OF   REV.    A.    AVIIEELER,    D.D.  101 

yet  they  are  afraid  of  the  public  schools  which  employ  for  iheir  teachers 
men  and  women  refined  in  manners,  cultivated  in  intellect,  models  of  viitiie, 
and  in  thousand  of  cases  noted  for  consistent  piety,  because  such  schools  are 
godless. 

But  the  argument  by  which  success  is  expected  is  the  rights  of  conscience. 
Catholics  cannot  in  conscience  patronize  schools  organized  by  the  State,  and 
in  the  direction  of  which,  the  civil  power  is  acknowledged.  The  American 
idea  of  the  sacredncss  of  conscience  is  invoked  to  tear  down  American  insti- 
tutions. If  there  shall  be  found  a  contradiction  between  the  two,  a  revolu- 
tion sufficiently  great  to  bring  liarnioiiy  must  inevitably  come.  For  institu- 
tions are  but  the  outgrowth  of  ideas,  and  all  discord  between  tlieni  nnist  dis- 
appear in  order  to  peace.  The  argument  to  be  effective  must  make  every 
man's  conscience  the  measure  of  his  duty  and  obligation,  and  also  of  his 
toleration.  The  State  under  this  view  has  no  right  to  impose  anything  upou 
the  imlividual,  which  he  may  claim  revolts  his  conscience.  Neither 
may  it  forbid  anything  which  his  conscience  imposes.  When  applied  to  the 
school  question  this  is  the  ground  taken  by  the  Catholics.  Under  no  circum- 
stances must  the  State  invade  the  domain  of  conscience.  The  voice  of  God 
is  alone  to  be  heard  there,  and  the  individual  is  to  be  the  sole  interpreter  of 
the  utterances.  I  need  not  say  that,  under  such  a  construction  of  the  rights 
of  conscience,  all  government  would  be  at  an  end,  and  the  existence  of  socie- 
ty an  impossibility.  All  that  would  be  needed  to  justify  any  crime  from  the 
smallest  up  to  treason,  would  be  to  plead  conscience.  Any  neglect  of  the 
humanities  of  life,  or  of  civil  obligations  could  be  justified  in  the  same  way. 

In  this  sense,  Americans  have  never  advocated  the  claims  of  conscience. 
Protestants  have  never  done  it.  Catholics  have  never  done  it,  only  when  it 
suited  their  convenience.  If  they  had,  there  would  have  been  fewer  Auto- 
da  fes.  In  matters  of  policy,  the  judgment  of  the  majority  has  decided. 
For  matters  of  policy,  involving  conscience,  the  judgment  and  conscience  of 
the  majority  have  done  the  same.  "The  government  of  the  people  by  the 
people,"  is  not  possible  under  any  other  practice. 

The  ideas  and  practice  of  the  people  are  at  one  in  this  regard,  and  always 
have  been.  But  when  the  Catholic  seeks  to  tear  down  one  of  the  main  stays 
of  our  free  institutions,  and  pleads  conscience  as  his  justification,  we  may 
well  ask,  Whose?  The  individuals?  How  long  since  Catholicism  became  the 
champion  of  the  indiviilual  conscience?  How  long  since  she  apologized  to 
the  world  for  those  volumes  of  her  history  made  red  with  the  blood  of  the 
martyrs,  slain  because  their  consciences  compelled  them  to  dissent  ?  Tiiere 
is  no  truth  in  history,  or  she  has  ever,  upon  occasion,  hushed  the  voice  of 
the  individual  conscience  in  the  silence  of  death.  Her  conscience  is  an  ec- 
clesiastical one,  that  is  to  say,  a  priestly  one,  that  is  to  say,  a  corporate  one. 
And  the  ultimate  factor  of  the  corporation  for  the  whole  Catholic  world,  is 
now  reduced  to  unity. 

The  convictions  of  one  man  are  binding  upon  all  the  faithful.  No  where 
is  this  nonsense,  and  this  profanation  of  the  individual  conscience,  accepted 
more  blindly,  than  by  Catholics  of  America.     They  are  as  tickled  with  the 


102  MINUTES   OF   COXVEXTIOX. 

doctrine  of  infallibility  as  a  boy  with  a  painted   boop  and  a  bell   attached, 
that  will  jingle  louder  than  that  of  any  other  boys  on  the  green. 

When  the  moral  status  of  the  Catholic  masses  is  considered,  the  plea  that 
their  tender  consciences  will  not  allow  them  to  send  their  children  to  our 
godless  schools,  especially  if  the  Lord's  praj^er  is  recited  in  them,  seems  to 
be  simply  a  broad  joke.  It  is  worse.  It  is  hypocrisy.  This  may  appear  se- 
vere. But  its  justice  will  be  admitted  by  all  who  remember  the  assassination 
of  William  the  Silent,  and  how  the  Holy  Father  with  uplifted  hands  blessed 
the  assassin,  or  Bartholomew's  day,  and  how  Catholic  bells  everywhere  rung 
out  a  Te  Deum  over  the  infimy.  It  were  not  best  for  us  to  seriously  con- 
sider any  proposal  to  change  any  of  our  time-honored  institutions  at  tlie  be- 
hests of  the  Catholic  conscience.     It  is  too  uncertain  a  quantity. 

Bi't  tliere  is  another  element  in  the  school  question.  The  Bible,  sliall  it  be 
retained,  or  thrown  out?  Against  its  retention  various  classes  have  combined, 
though  the  Catholics  are  the  leaders  and  strength  of  the  movement.  A  con- 
Hict  is  before  us,  and  promises  to  be  general  and  sharp.  Some  who  love  the 
Bible,  think  it  best  to  remove  it  without  strife,  hoping  thereby  to  bring  set- 
tled peace  to  our  scliools.  But  if,  as  I  have  endeavored  to  show,  the  design 
of  the  leading  party  in  the  opposition  is  to  destroy  them,  such  amiability  is 
uncalled  fur.  The  moral  effects  of  such  a  compliance  should  be  taken  into 
account.  "Were  the  introduction  of  the  Bible  into  our  schools  a  question  de 
novo,  and  serious  objections  were  urged  against  it,  I  will  not  say  it  might  not 
behest  to  omit  it.  The  moral  effect  of  leaving  it  out  at  first,  because  of  an 
opposition  that  would  jeopardize  their  establishment,  would  have  differed 
much  from  ejecting  it  at  the  command  of  those  who  had  no  part  in  determi- 
ning the  character  of  the  schools  at  their  org:iniz;ition,  or  if  any,  so  feeble, 
as  not  to  affect  tbe  unanimity  with  which  they  were  established,  or  the  Chris- 
tian basis  upon  which  they  were  planted.  As  a  matter  of  comity,  it  would 
be  proper  to  yield  what  must  be  resisted  strenuously  when  exacted  as  a 
right,  and  which  yielded,  might  only  invite  to  larger  demands.  What  might 
li;ive  been  given  as  a  courtesy  without  damage,  it  might  be  fatal  to  sacrifice 
to  implacability.  As  it  now  stands,  to  remove  the  Bible  from  our  schools  at 
the  command  of  a  hostile  power,  must  have  the  effect  of  a  victory  over  reli- 
gion, and  also  over  education  as  conducted  by  the  State.  And  while  you 
please  tlie  Catholic  by  a  mighty  blow  against  general  education,  and  the  infi- 
del by  a  strong  one  against  Christianity,  what  do  you  gain?  Not  acquies- 
cence in  the  system  on  the  part  of  the  Catliolic,  but  indifference  on  the  part 
of  the  Protestant,  whicli  must  ultimately  compromise  the  very  continuance 
of  the  systetn  itself.  But  it  is  a  question  of  gravest  doubt,  whether  it  would 
have  been  wise,  even  if  the  opposition  had  bi'cii  made  at  tlie  initiation  of  our 
schools,  to  liavc  refused  the  Word  of  God  admission  thereto. 

What  is  the  significance  of  public  schools?  That  the  State  nuist  educate 
for  S.ate  ends;  tliat  is  to  say,  tlie  State  must  sec  to  it  that  her  children  are 
80  qualified  to  ailminisler  her  .•ifi'airs,  that  no  harm  shall  come  to  her  in- 
logrify,  and  tiial  the  iiighest  form  of  State  life  may  be  developed.  They 
mean  tiiis,  or  they  mean  nothing.  Can  this  be  done  by  any  education  that 
leaves  unlouciied  the  religious  element  in  man  ?     No  element  in  bis  nature  is 


ESSAY   OF   REV.  A.  WHEELER,  D.  D.  103 

80  profound  as  this,  so  lasting  as  this,  so  dominating  as  this.  Any  plan  of 
education  that  overlooks  this  fact,  or  neglects  it,  merits  the  term  "godless." 
The  State  in  adopting  it,  and  administering  it,  but  arms  her  children  with 
the  greater  power  of  mischief  to  herself,  and  removes  the  securities  against 
its  exercise.  If  conscience  is  to  remain  uninstructed,  and  the  moral  fac- 
ulties are  to  remain  in  slumber,  ignorance  is  better  than  knowledge. 
Security  to  society  cletnands  that  its  inlpycrs  be  educated  in  their  entirety.  Let  it 
not  be  said  that  the  moralities  of  life  in  their  highest  forms  can  be  culti- 
vated with  success,  without  reference  to  religion.  There  is  no  basis  for 
morality  without,  or  other,  than  religion.  If  then  the  State,  so  far  as  she 
educates,  is  to  educate  the  whole  man,  wliy  object  to  the  Bible  in  the 
schools,  the  Book  which  is  confessedly  the  repository  of  the  highest  religious 
truths,  urged  home  by  considerations  of  an  everlasting  nature,  and  guarded 
by  sanctions  of  infinite  importance  ?  This  view  may  not  be  set  aside  by  say- 
ing that  it  commits  the  State  to  sectarian  education;  for  Bible  truths  appeal 
not  to  that  within  us  that  supports  denominationalism,  much  less  sectarian- 
ism, but  to  the  universal  moral  nature  of  man,  and  if  experience  is  to  be 
trusted,  is  competent  to  develop  that  nature.  And  so  far  as  that  develop- 
ment has  progressed,  giving  security  to  society,  and  stability  to  the  insti- 
tutions of  civilization,  and  a  Divine  beauty  to  the  character  of  man,  it  has 
received  its  inspiration  from  these  truths.  Where  they  are  taught,  humanity 
moves  forward  and  upward.  Where  they  are  unheard,  stagnation,  if  not 
barbarism,  reigns.  And  shall  we  dare  to  pass  sentence  against  those  sublime 
truths  that  are  leading  Christendom  such  a  grand  march  by  interdicting  them 
in  schools  supported  by  public  policy?  Whither  shall  we  journey  when  we 
have  dismissed  our  ever  trusty  leaders?  Upon  what  sea  shall  we  drift  when 
we  have  cast  our  pilots  into  the  deep?  To  trust  to  secular  education  after 
eliminating  all  religion,  is  not  safe;  at  least,  if  it  is,  we  are  not  authorized  to 
say  so,  for  we  have  never  tried  it.  For  from  the  beginning  until  now  Chris- 
tianity has  had  the  main  part  to  do  in  determining  the  character  of  our  Gov- 
ernment and  ord.iining  its  institutions.  However  numerous  the  enemies  of 
Christianity  among  us  may  be,  and  however  learned,  the  fact  is  patent,  that 
our  civilization  is  Christian. 

Remove  the  Christian  element  from  our  literature,  from  our  legislation, 
from  our  tribunals  of  justice,  from  our  social  and  public  life,  and  what  have 
you  left  ?  Nothing  to  give  coherence,  or  to  ordain  stability.  The  genius 
that  presided  over  our  national  birth,  and  directed  the  first  years  of  growth, 
and  defended  us  when  all  the  gods  of  war  were  about  to  crush  us,  cannot  be 
driven  from  His  temple  and  yet  the  temple  remain,  much  less  remain  un- 
harmed. 

Shall  we  hope  that  the  public  loss  sustained  by  excluding  the  Bible  from 
our  schools  will  be  repaired,  and  more  than  made  up,  by  the  increased  pri- 
vate value  that  shall  be  attached  to  its  teachings,  and  the  intenser  activity 
that  shall  be  displayed  in  their  diffusion  ?  This  would  seem  to  be  an  illogi- 
cal result  after  the  public  has  decided  tluxt  the  retention  of  the  Bible  in  the 
place  assigned  it  by  our  fathers,  is  contrary  to  the  public  welfare. 

This  shall  be  construed  by  the  skeptic  into  a  declaration  of  its  obsolete- 


104  MINUTES   OF   CONVENTION. 

ness,  and  its  unfitness  to  lead  the  thought  of  this  progressive  age  and  country. 
And  such  shall  be  the  power  with  which  they  shall  ply  the  minds  of  the 
young  with  this  conclusion,  that  the  Bible,  as  the  Word  of  God,  shall  be  in 
danger  of  becoming  a  mere  jest.  But  suppose  the  exclusion  made,  will  the 
spirit  of  exorcism  be  satisfied  ?  Not  one  of  our  school  books  but  that  in- 
culcates the  moralities  and  principles  of  the  Bible.  Will  you  allow  them  to 
remain?  If  so,  why  not  allow  the  original  fountain  from  which  they  draw 
their  supplies  to  flow  through  the  recitation  rooms  of  American  youth  ? 

AVhat  will  you  do  with  the  mottoes,  those  silent  educators  of  mind  and 
heart,  that  flash  from  the  walls  of  your  school-rooms  ?  What  with  the  beau- 
tiful songs  your  children  sing  so  sweetly,  and  whicli  do  so  much  to  enliven 
the  hours  of  school,  and  cheer  the  spirits  of  the  little  ones,  and  make  edu- 
cation a  delight  rather  than  a  task  ?  Those  mottoes,  are  Christian  mottoes, 
those  songs,  are  Christian  songs,  and  must  follow  the  fortunes  of  the  book 
from  which  they  derive  their  inspiration.  They,  too,  must  be  thrown  out. 
The  work  of  the  demolition  of  the  educational  appliances  of  the  land  must  go 
on  till  the  work  of  destruction  is  complete. 

And  then  for  the  substitution.  You  must  not  bring  in  Catholicism; 
Protestantism  shuts  that  out.  You  must  not  bring  in  infidelity  ;  Protestant- 
ism and  Catholicism  alike  shut  that  out.  You  must  not  bring  in  Judaism, 
for  all  combine  to  shut  that  out.  You  must  not  bring  in  the  mythologic  re- 
ligions of  antiquity,  for  what  right  have  they  to  rise  from  a  death  of  ages, 
and  enter,  and  rule,  when  the  others  may  not  stay  ?  If  all  these  are  shut 
out  what  liave  you  left  to  teach?  If  3'ou  mustnot  teach  religion,  neither  may 
you  teach  anti-religion.  If  you  may  not  teacli  science  considered  from  the 
stand-point  of  faith,  neither  may  you  teach  it  considered  from  the  stand- 
point of  unbelief.  If  you  may  not  teach  history  in  the  fulness  of  its  revela- 
tions of  Catliolic  Churcli  life,  neither  may  you  its  revelations  of  the  fulness 
of  Protestant  Church  life.  The  logic  of  the  controversy  is,  teach  nothing  to 
whicli  anyl)ody  will  object.  This  would  leave  but  a  small  margin  for  in- 
struction in  anything;  so  small,  that  it  would  liardly  be  worth  while  to  con- 
tinue our  expensive  schools  to  impart  it.  The  spirit  that  would  shut  out  tiie 
Bible  from  our  public  schools  is  at  war  alike  witli  the  genius  of  our  institu- 
tions and  of  the  civilization  under  which  we  live.  It  would  turn  us  back 
from  our  splendid  national  career  to  tlie  absolutism  and  ]>riestcraft  of  the 
mcdiicval  times,  ami  condemn  humanity  to  retravel  the  hard,  rough  and 
bloody  ways  over  whicli  it  has  come  in  tiiesix  iiundred  years  agone. 

If  we  are  ever  to  discard  our  system  of  education,  or  modify  in  any  essen- 
tial degree  the  course  of  instruction  secured  thereby,  it  is  not  a  good  time 
now  to  try  it,  or  to  propose  it.  Our  scliools  deserve  well  of  tiie  llopublic. 
The  memories  of  their  services  are  too  fresii  and  green  to  permit  serious 
change.  Our  Government  has  been  tried  as  no  government  has  been  tested 
before.  Tlie  result  is  before  llie  world.  The  tempest  is  over,  and  not  a 
plank  is  loose,  or  a  spar  gone,  or  a  cord  liroken.  At  tlie  sight  of  such  a  ship, 
outriding  such  a  storm,  with  such  a  record,  the  thrones  of  the  world  arc 
shaking,  and  the  heart  of  humanity  is  being  refreshed  with  new  visions,  and 
Blirrcd  with  new  hopes.     Had  ignorance   prevailed  in  the  land,   li:ul  wo  had 


ESSAY   OF   REV.    A.  WHEELER,  D.  D.  105 

no  public  schools,  could  we  have  chronlclcil  these  grand  achievements  (o- 
day  ?  If  tlierc  had  been  no  open  Bible  in  them,  and  in  our  homes,  could  we 
have  done  it  ?  Who  believes  it?  When  we  are  prepared  to  exchange 
America  for  Spain,  or  Italy,  then  will  we  resign  ourselves  into  the  hands  of 
the  priests. 

But  the  great  argument  has  not  been  completed  by  us.  It  i.s  now  being 
finished  by  Protestant  Germany  in  the  land  of  infidelity  and  Catholicism. 
Universal  education,  with  the  Bible  which  Luther  unchained  as  its  basis,  is 
confronting  a  nation  that  has  accepted  tlie  priests  and  the  disciples  of  Vol- 
taire as  its  teachers.  The  one  has  been  fearful  of  education ;  both  of  the 
Bible.  The  masses  are  without  intelligence;  the  intelligent  without  religion. 
This  explains  Woerth,  and  Gravelotte,  and  Sedan.  This  explains  Paris,  iso- 
lated from  the  world  to-day  by  armed  foreigners,  and  France  humbled  by 
those  she  scorned.  Were  America  France,  the  Stars  and  Stripes  had  not 
forsaken  the  Rhine,  and  retired  behind  the  fortifications  of  a  doomed  Capi- 
tal. Had  France  the  public  schools  of  America,  her  eagles  still  had  ruled  at 
Strasbourg,  the  gates  of  Metz  had  still  been  open,  and  the  Teuton  liad  been 
at  home  gathering  his  vintage  in  peace.  The  people  would  have  forbidden 
the  causeless  war. 

Education  ivith  religion  is  strength.  The  nation  that  has  both  is  mighty, 
and  siiall  never  be  brought  to  shame,  or  to  experience  confusion  of  face. 

Dr.  a.  Wheeler  on  behalf  of  the  Committee  aLso  offered 
the  following  resolutions : 

Resolved,  1.  That  the  efficiency  and  life  of  republican  institutions  demand 
a  system  of  general  education,  the  benefits  of  which  may  be  shared  by  the 
entire  people. 

Resolved,  2.  That  it  is  the  duty  of  the  State,  to  provide  such  system  and 
preserve  it  from  destruction  and  impairment  by  hosiile  hands. 

Resolved,  3.  That  the  highest  interests  of  the  State  alone  must  determine 
the  character  and  extent  of  the  education  she  should  provide  for  her  citizens. 

Resolved,  4.  That  no  course  of  education,  however  extensive  or  thorough, 
from  wliich  the  religious  element  is  eliminated  can  conserve  the  highest  wel- 
fare of  the  State. 

Resolved,  5.  That  the  Bible  is  the  only  competent  educator  of  the  moral 
faculties  of  men,  and  that  its  banishment  from  our  public  schools  we  will  re- 
sist by  all  just  and  Christian  etforts. 

Resolved,  0  That  the  Bible  in  its  teachings,  or  spirit,  is  not  a  promoter  of 
sectarianism;  but  its  teachings  accepted,  and  its  spirit  imparted,  tend  to  the 
unification  of  peoples,  however  diverse  in  habits,  or  race,  or  nationality. 

Resolved,  7.  That  the  partition  of  public  school  funds  on  the  levy  of  a  tax 
to  support  sectarian  schools,  is  contrary  to  the  genius  of  our  Government 
and  its  Constitution;  and  truth  and  justice  alone  shall  limit  our  opposition 
to  any  such  policy. 

Resolved,  8.  That  our  sympathies  as  a  Church  are  with  our  public  schools, 
and  nothing  we  can  do  to  make  them  more  effective,  and  to  diffuse  their 
blessings  more  extensively  shall  be  neglected. 


106  MINUTES   OF   CONVENTION. 

President  Allen,  LL.  D. — We  read  in  the  best  of  books,  that  Closes  said 
to  the  children  of  Israel,  "These  words  which  I  command  thee  this  day, 
shall  be  in  thine  heart  ;  and  thou  shall  teach  them  diligently  unto  thy  chil- 
dren, and  shalt  talk  of  them  when  thou  sittcst  in  thine  liouse,  and  when 
thou  walkest  by  the  way,  and  when  thou  liest  down,  and  when  thou  risest 
up.  And  thou  shalt  bind  them  for  a  sign  upon  thine  hand,  and  they  shall 
be  as  frontlets  between  thine  ej'es.  And  thou  shalt  write  them  upon  the 
posts  of  thy  house  and  on  thy  gates."  Now,  if  the  precepts  which  IMoses 
inculcated  for  the  children  of  Israel,  as  the  basis  of  their  morality,  were  thus 
to  be  made  the  common  property  of  the  people,  and  of  every  child  in  that  na- 
tion, what  argument  can  be  brought  forward  why  every  child  in  this  country 
should  not  be  taught  the  morality  of  the  Bible?  The  ancient  philosopliers 
discovered  all  the  moral  principles.  Every  doctrine  of  moral  philosophy 
which  we  have,  but  yet  they  could  not  make  the  people  moral;  and  why? 
For  the  very  reason,  the  Chairman  of  the  Committee  informs  us  in  his  re- 
port, that  their  precepts  had  not  the  proper  sanctions,— they  hadn't  the 
sanctions  which  readied  forward  to  the  future  world.  We  can  have  no  se- 
cure basis  of  morals  but  in  Christianity,  and  therefore  we  must  t  ach  the 
principles  of  Christianity  if  we  would  not  have  that  flood  of  immorality  sweep 
upon  us  that  swept  over  the  ancient  republics  and  destroyed  them. 

We  have  at  Girard  College,  where  I  reside,  some  five  hundred  and  fifty 
boys,  and  the  Bible  is  read  every  day,  and  has  been  since  the  College  was 
opened,  now  nearly  twenty-three  years. 

Mr.  Webster,  to  whom  allusion  was  made  this  morning,  founded  his 
great  argument  in  the  Girard  College  cisc,  upon  what  he  supposed  would  be 
the  result  of  the  exclusion  of  Christian  teaching.  The  logic  of  facts  has  de- 
stroyed the  logic  of  the  lawyer.  lie  was  talking  for  a  fee  :  we  are  endeavor- 
ing to  show  that  Cliristian  teaching  can  be  introduced  and  kept  up  in  that 
institution,  as  in  any  other,  witli  the  single  exception  which  by  the  will  of 
Air.  Girard  we  are  bound  to  obey  and  you  all  understand.  I  don't  want  to 
make  any  offensive  allusions.  Now,  we  have  there,  boys  from  every  denom- 
ination,— Protestant  boys.  Catholic  boys,  Israelite  boys — and  every  Sunday 
morning  at  nine  o'clock  they  assemble  for  their  Bible  lesson,  and  use  King 
James'  translation,  as  we  call  it,  and  no  objection  has  ever  been  brought  to 
our  ears  except  in  a  single  instance,  some  eighteen  or  nineteen  years  ago — I 
think  perhaps  nearly  twenty,  the  first  year  I  was  at  Girard  Collegf.  One  of 
the  large  boys  refused  to  learn  the  Bible  lesson  for  Sundaj  morning  at  9 
o'clock.  Tiie  lecture  in  the  chapel  is  subsequent  to  that,  at  lOi  o'clock.  I 
askeil  him  what  was  the  matter.  lie  told  me  that  was  not  the  right  Bible. 
Who  told  you  so  ?  I  inquired.  He  informed  me  that  the  last  lime  he  was  to 
visit  his  friends  the  priest  had  told  liiniso.  1  informed  him — and  I  went  into 
his  section — the  largest  in  llie  irisi  ilut  imi  iit  thai  time — anil  addressed  all  llie 
boys  on  th(!  subject,  and  told  llieiii  iliat  the  Board  of  Dircclois  had  required  us 
to  use  the  Bible,  and  our  Knglish  translation  of  llie  Bible,  as  oflr  text  book  in 
morals,  and  (liat  by  the  will  of  llie  founder  of  the  (Jollege  we  were  required  to 
teacli  the  purest  principles  of  ii](ii;ilily.  Mild  \vv  all  brlirvrd  llicy  wrrc  Coiindin 
the  Bible,  and  that  it  was  tlie  spirit  and  Icllcr  of  M  i'.  (iiiards  will  tlial  no  de- 


ADDRESS   OF   ^^ESIDE^•T   ALLEN.  107 

nomination  or  sect  whatever  should  interfere  witli  tlie  affairs  of  the  College, 
and  that  we  should  not  permit  any  Catholic,  Protestant,  Mohammedan,  Jew, 
or  Pagan  to  come  in  and  tell  us  what  books  we  should  read  and  wliat  not. 
That  was  the  end  of  tlie  matter  ;  no  boy  lias  ever  since  demurred  to  learning 
his  Bible  lesson. 

Now,  we  have  power  over  the  boys  there  which  the  teachers  in  the  public 
schools  have  not.     We  support  them,  feed,  clothe,  and  instruct  them,  .vithout 
pay;  we  ought,  therefore,  to  have  a  hold  upon  them  which  the  public  schools 
do  not  have  ;  and  the  question   is  not  so  simple,  my  friends,   when  we  come 
to  the  question  of  the   Bible   in  the   public   schools.     If  we   could   teach  our 
children  in  tlic  public  schools  to  read  the  inspired  writings  in  the  languages 
in  wliich  they   were  inspired,  the  matter  would  be   much  simplified,  but  we 
cannot.     No  one,  I  suppose,  will  contend  that  the  translations  were  made  by 
inspired  men ;   they  were  made   by  learned  men,  and  we  believe  our  English 
translation  is  the  best  Ihat  has  ever  been  made.     On   comparing  it    with  the 
Douay   translation,  I  consider   our  translation  far  superior,  but  yet  every 
scholar  knows  there  are  errors  in  it.     Now  our  Baptist  friends  got   out  an- 
other translation  ;   we  call  that  sectarian,  because  they  have  translated  cer- 
tain  words  in   a   manner  to    suit  their  own  belief,  and   these  are  words  the 
meaning  of  which    the  best  scholars  will  admit  is  doubtful.     Take  the  word 
baptize.     It  is  not  certain  what  that  meant,  precisely,  in  Greek,  and  therefore 
our  translators  of  the  Bible — very    learned  men — adopted  the  Greek  word  in 
an   English  form.     Now,  I  don't  want  to  be  considered  as  making  an  attempt 
here  to  show  off  learning,  but  when   a  boy  in  college,  I  undertook   to  trans- 
late one  of  the  odes  of  Anacreon  literally,  and  as   nearly  as  I  recollect,  it 
read  thus:   (I  hope  the  Convention  will  pardon  me  for  quoting  Anacreon  in 
a  Convention  of  Methodists.)   "I,  while  wearing  garlands,  found  love  among 
the  roses,  and  by  his  wings  I  caught  him  and  in  the  wine  baptized  him,  and 
with  the  wine  I  drank,  till  now  within  me  he  flutters  and  tickles  me  with  his 
fingers."     Now  that  word  baptize  is  not  classic  Greek.     How  far    the  word 
in  the  New  Testament  Greek  differs  from  classic  I  am  not  scholar   enough  to 
inform  you,  but  it  is  not  said  what  he  did  with  that  little   mischievous  wing, 
whether  he  plunged  it  right  in  under  the  wine  or  poured  some  over  or  spriuk- 
ed  it  upon  the  wing.     The  Baptists  say  plunged  right  under,  then  drank  it. 
Pardon  me,  gentlemen,  for  tiiis.     I  merely  notice  it  to  show  that   we  cannot 
positively  restrict  the  meaning  of  that  word  lo  thesingle  act  which  our  Baptist 
friends  insist  upon.     Now  isn't  it  better  tiiat  our  translators  should  give  the 
word  an  English  form  and  let  each  denomination  apply  the  sense    they  think 
proper? 

Now  there  is  another  English  translation  of  the  Bible,  as  we  hear,  and  all 
the  Protestant  denominations  have  been  invited  to  unite,  and  the  Catholics, 
but  ihey  have  declined.  When  that  translation  is  published  what  will  be  the 
conflict  between  it  and  the  old  one?  Perhaps  some.  We  shall  then  have  four 
translations,  claiming  to  be  the  best,  in  our  public  schools.  We  should  think 
it  a  very  great  hardship  in  a  school  in  which  our  Catholic  friends  had  the 
majority,  if  they  were  to  say,  "  We  will  throw  out  your  King  James'  Bible 
and  the  children  shall  read  the  Catholic  Bible."     Now,  let  us  be  just  and  do 


108  MIXUTES   OF   CONVENTION. 

to  others  as  we  would  bave  them  do  to  us.  iSIay  we  not  suppose  they  think 
it  a  great  hardship  that  their  children  should  be  compelled  to  read  our  Bible 
where  we  have  the  majority.  Suppose  the  Baptists  have  a  majority  and  in- 
sist on  reading  their  Bible.  Now  all  these  conflicts  may  come  up,  and  to 
what  shall  we  be  driven?  To  tlirow  the  Bible  out  ?  By  no  means  :  we  can't 
spare  it  from  our  instruction.  Shall  we  let  every  child  read  the  Bible  his 
friends  insist  is  the  true  and  right  translation  ?  I  am  not  prepared  to  an- 
swer that  question.  I  can  see  a  great  conflict  in  the  future  in  this  lisrht.  As 
the  question  has  been  started  by  our  Catholic  friends,  and  to  which  the 
chairman  of  the  Committee  alluded  in  such  strong  terms,  I  see  sometliing 
farther  and  deeper  in  that  than  the  question  of  reading  the  Bible  in  the  pub- 
lic schools.  He  told  you  what  that  was:  it  is  the  contest  between  sectarian 
teaching  and  public  school  instruction  :  it  looks  forward  to  a  division  of  the 
school  funds  for  sectarian  purposes,  that  the  children  of  Catholics  may  be 
brought  up  in  the  Catholic  faith  and  that  they  may  not  lose  their  children 
by  contact  with  Protestant  teaching  and  teachers,  and  companionship  with 
Protestant  children  :  and  there  is  something  coming  beyond  that.  If  they  can 
carry  that  one  thing  there  must  follow  what  is  most  of  all  to  be  deprecated, 
the  destruction  of  our  public  schools. 

Rev.  J.  AValker  Jackson — Mr.  President:  The  other  day  I  saw  a  building 
fall,  that  had  been  pronounced  by  the  inspectors,  I  believe,  in  a  critical  con- 
dition. Those  transacting  business  in  that  house,  occupied  below  as  a  store 
and  above  as  a  manufactory  of  some  kind,  went  on  day  after  diiy,  regardless 
of  the  warning  given.  The  sun  shone  brightly ;  there  was  no  storm  or  dark- 
ness in  the  heaven  upon  that  fatal  day ;  yet,  in  one  single  moment,  before 
my  sight,  it  fell  so  gradually  and  silently  that  within  twenty  feet  I  scarcely 
heard  the  crash  and  ruin  tliat  1  looked  upon.  It  seemed  as  if  prepared  for 
fall,  as  if  it  had  been  pre-ordained  by  its  builder  to  tltis  silent  ruin.  Tiie  oc- 
cupants bruised  by  the  timbers  were  dragged  out  nearly  dead.  One  of  the 
inmates  climbing  upon  tlie  partition  wall,  stood  the  image  of  terror,  looking 
down  upon  the  fearful  deptli.  It  liad  all  happened  so  silently  an<l  unexpect 
edly  that  I  stood  in  amazement.  No  lightning  had  bbisied  il  :  liiere  liad 
been  no  violent  attack  upon  it;  but  secretly  and  insidiously  the  waters  of  a 
creek  flowing  at  its  base,  had  undermined  the  foundations  and  it  fell. 

A  few  years  ago,  tliis  great  Goverument  of  our.s  was  violently  assauljcd. 
A  million  of  men  in  bloody  conflict  shook  the  coniinenl.  our  hearts  stood  in 
awe,  fearing  tlie  speedy  fall  of  the  great  edifice  of  civil  au<l  religious  lil)erty  ; 
but,  amid  that  storm  and  tempest  it  grew  the  stronger  every  day,  manifest- 
ing its  strength  and  power;  an«l  at  the  close  emerged  from  that  fierce,  un- 
brotherly  and  wicked  strife,  a  stronger  government  iliin  il  had  ever  been 
before.  Able  as  it  has  proven  itself  to  resist  outward  attack,  to  stand  firm 
against  tlie  external  tempest,  by  secret  ami  insidious  foes  its  foundations 
mmj  be  undermined,     it  nniy  yet  fall : 

"Like  .siiips  tliat  have  gone  down  at  soa 
^Vheu  heaven  was  all  tranquility." 


ADDRESS   OF   REV.  J.  AVAEKER  JACKSON.  109 

I  look  upon  the  attack  on  our  public  school  system  as  the  umlermining  of 
the  unseen  foundation  of  this  edifice;  as  the  water  tlooJ  tiiat  may  sweep  to 
ruin  this  great  Government  of  ours.  If  this  attack  be  not  resisted,  if  this  on- 
coming flood  be  not  diked  and  prevented,  then,  some  day,  as  the  result  of 
causes  of  whose  existence  we  are  aware,  and  of  whose  danger  we  are  fore- 
warned, quietly,  yet  not  the  less  disastrously,  shall  come  the  end. 

There  are  two  pillars  to  this  national  edifice  of  ours — religion  and  educa- 
tion. They  are  its  pillars  of  strength  and  beauty.  Not  religion  alone — and 
by  religion,  in  the  association  of  the  idea  with  the  State,  I  mean  public  mo- 
rality— and  not  education  alone,  but  education  and  religion  combined. 
Education  without  religion  leads  to  infidelity,  to  rationalism,  to  skepticism  ; 
religion  without  educHtion,  on  the  other  hand,  leads  to  superstition;  for 
ignorance  is  said  to  be  the  mother  of  devotion ;  and  that  is  what  is  meant  by 
Ma/ devotion.  The  Germans  express  it,  if  I  remember  rightly,  somehow  in 
this  way:  they  call  faith,  glauben  ;  and,  superstition  abcr  glauben,  that  is 
faith  with  an  aber  to  it ;  a  faith  with  "  ifs  and  buts;  "  a  faith  of  credulity; 
a  faith  with  clouds  and  darkness  resting  on  it ;  a  faith  without  the  clear 
light  of  the  assurance  of  a  divine  revelation  ;  or,  in  other  words,  a  faith  with- 
out education  ;  that  is  the  faith  of  the  credulous,  the  faith,  which  is  aupeisli- 
tion.  A  faith  with  education  is  faith  with  reason,  that  rational  faith  that 
upholds,  and  sustains,  and  supports  us — a  light  shining  in  a  dark  place,  to 
which  we  do  well  to  take  heed. 
.  The  Bible  is  in  our  public  schools  because  it  is  necessary  to  the  education 
of  the  coming  millions  of  our  children  in  the  purest  principles  of  morality  ; 
it  is  the  text  book  of  that  national  religion  which,  according  to  the  highest 
human  authorities,  both  of  ancient  and  modern  times,  is  essential  to  the  life 
of  a  nation.  That  national  religion  which  recognizes  the  State  as  instituted 
by  God,  as  the  Creator  and  Ruler  of  the  world,  and  having  for  its  object  the 
establishment  and  maintenance  of  justice,  and  therefore  bound  to  act  in  con- 
formity to  the  principles  of  the  moral  law  of  God,  as  the  supreme  standard  by 
which  it  shall  conduct  its  ati'airs. 

We  cannot  stop  here  to  discuss  the  versions  of  the  Holy  Scriptures — the 
sectarian  character  of  any  version;  we  simply  stand  by  the  version  that  time 
has  sanctified,  that  the  past  has  made  sacred.  Put  this  Bible  out  of  the  pub- 
lic schools,  and  you  put  religion  out — not  the  religion  of  the  sects,  but  the 
religion  of  the  nation.  The  fundamental  law  of  the  life  of  this  nation  is 
Christianity,  and  the  text  book  of  that  life  is  the  Bible  All  nations  that 
perish,  perish  for  the  want  of  a  religion  that  can  save  them. 

The  argument  that  puts  the  Bible  out  of  the  common  school  goes  further 
than  this  ;  to  be  consistent,  it  excludes  it  from  all  institutions  that  are  the 
common  property  of  the  people.  It  puts  it  out  of  the  penitentiaries,  out  of 
the  reformatory  institutions,  out  of  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  out  of 
Congress,  out  of  all  legislative  bodies,  out  of  all  pu'olic  institutions  of  every 
character,  out  of  Courts  of  Law,  where  its  divine  character  is  now  recognized 
in  the  oath.  Nay  it  must  even  go  further  tlian  this  and  eliminate  the  Bible 
and  its  teachings  from  the  letter  of  all  laws,  from  all  books  used  in  public 
libraries  under  the  patronage  of  the  State,  and  for  the  education  of  the  com- 


iiO  MINUTES   OF    CONVENTION. 

moa  people.     Are  we  prepared  for  this  ?     Shall  we  not  resist  the  begianings 
of  such  a  fearful  consummation? 

Judge  McCalmont. — The  question  under  discussion  is  one  which,  as  a 
matter  of  course,  has  excited  public  attention  to  a  great  degree.  I  do  not  wish 
to  treat  it  in  this  Convention,  nor  any  other  question,  merely  to  captivate  the 
public,  because  the  public  are  sufficiently  excited,  but  it  is  for  us  to  deter- 
mine what  is  best  for  us,  and  what  is  best  for  us  will  no  doubt  be  best  for  the 
whole  Methodist  Church  and  for  the  whole  Christian  world. 

Now,  sir,  in  reference  to  this  Government,  when  William  Penn  came  over 
here,  he  didn't  guarantee  religious  liberty  to  the  Jews  ;  he  guaranteed  alone 
the  right  of  men  to  worship  God  according  to  the  dictates  of  their  own  con- 
sciences, but  he  didn't  guarantee  especially  to  infidels  or  Jews  any  rights 
whatever,  and  it  is  a  mistake  for  men  to  suppose  that  we  are  going  to  let  go 
the  guarantee  which  our  forefathers  brought  with  them;  but  if  they  address 
us  as  friends,  from  whatever  quarter  of  the  globe  they  come,  whether  they  be 
low  or  high,  rich  or  poor,  bond  or  free,  Jew  or  Gentile,  Christian  or  infidel, 
and  say  to  us,  "  We  want  some  rights  here,  and  we  want  you  to  give  us  these 
rights,"  I  am  ready  at  all  times,  and  on  all  occasions,  and  I  trust  this  is  the 
spirit  of  our  Church,  to  sit  down  and  reason  with  them,  and  see  if  there  be 
any  question  in  dispute  between  us  that  is  not  radical.  If  they  will  come 
together  and  reason,  we  need  never  fear  the  result.  Now,  as  to  tliis  ques- 
tion of  the  Bible  on  the  public  schools.  I  don't  believe  it  will  ever  be  kept 
out  of  the  public  schools.  Suppose  it  were  proposed  to  exclude  some  other 
book  from  tlie  public  schools,  some  book  we  regard  as  highly  moral,  we 
would  all  say,  Wliat  folly  to  put  out  that  when  there  is  nothing  immoral  or 
wrong  in  it!     So  of  the  Bible. 

Rkv.  Dr.  Crooks.— I  regard  tliis  question  as  (he  question  of  modern  civi- 
lization. The  whole  of  our  modern  civilization  is  in  it,  because  modern 
civilization  assumes  the  right  of  education  by  the  State.  MedijBval  civiliza- 
tion, marshalled  by  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  claims  the  exclusive  right 
of  educating  by  the  Church.  The  question,  tlicn,  is  between  mcdi;eval  and 
modern  civilization.  We  must  consider  it  in  all  its  breadth.  There  is  no 
evading  it,  no  escaping  it.  We  have  to  meet  it  now.  As  my  friend,  Mr. 
Jackson,  has  said,  it  concerns  the  very  foundations  of  society.  It  does  so  for 
this  reason  :  Rome  claims  to  be  tlie  sovereign  of  the  human  spirit.  She 
claims  sovereignly  over  the  human  soul  because  she  is  the  vicar  of  Christ. 
Being  sovereign,  unto  whom  she  chooses  she  opens  the  gates  of  the  kingdom 
of  heaven;  against  whom  she  pleases  she  closes  those  gates  forever.  Her 
right  and  title,  then,  according  to  her  claim,  are  indisputable  over  what  is 
called  the  spirilual  nature  of  man.  Hut  tiie  spiritual  nature  of  man  is  kin- 
dred with  his  inlelleclual  nutui-c,  and  liicrclore  ltonn>  clniiiis  the  right  of 
culturing  the  liumaii  intellect.  She  will  never  surrender  it;  she  will  die 
first;  an<l  -lie  she  must.  That  claim  you  must  resist,  if  necessary,  to  the 
last  extremity.  Now,  wc  are  not  going  to  have  blood  soon.  I  hope  we  shall 
settle  this  question  at  tlie  ballot-box,  and  1  think  wc  shall  settle  it  finally 
and  forever. 


ADDRESS  OF  REV.  DR.  CROOKS.  Ill 

Roman  CatboHoism,  then,  claiming  the  right  to  cultivate  the  human  intel- 
lect, demands  control  of  human  education.  She  takes  the  human  .soul  a.s  it 
first  appears,  and  says:  "  It  is  mine."  From  the  cradle  to  the  gmve,  from 
baptism  to  extreme  unction,  still  slio  ever  says:  "This  is  mine.  My  son,  I 
alone  can  guide  you  ;  I  alone  can  tell  you  what  knowledge  is  good  for  you  ; 
I  alone  can  educate  you;"  and  tiiat  is  tiie  very  basis  on  which  Rome 
exists. 

The  syllabus  of  the  Pope,  which  I  would  like  to  see  in  the  hands  of  every 
voter  in  the  United  Slates,  and  especially  every  voter  in  Pennsylvania,  lays 
down  as  among  the  errors  of  modern  society  to  be  condemned,  the  right 
of  the  State  to  educate;  lays  down  as  an  error,  fatal  and  damnable, 
State  education  as  distinct  from  that  education  whicli  is  controlled  by  tlie 
Church.  But  then,  when  Rome  says  "tlie  Church,"  she  means  the  priestly 
corporation,  not  the  laity — not  at  all.  AVitli  Rome,  the  Church  as  a  control- 
ling power  is  the  small  corporate  body  of  the  priesthojd,  the  army  of  the 
Pope,  to  which  he  never  speaks  that  he  does  not  demand  obedience.  Then 
education  by  the  Church,  according  to  her  principles,  means  education  by  a 
priestly  corporation;  and  the  whole  of  mankind — all  its  attainments,  all  its 
acquisitions,  all  its  learning,  according  to  her  demands,  must  be  subject  unto 
her  infallible  head. 

Do  I  mistake  the  doctrine  of  the  Church?  Let  nie  give  an  instance. 
Austria,  but  a  few  years  ago,  rescued  herself  from  the  grasp  of  tlie  Church 
and  took  the  control  of  education  out  of  the  hands  of  the  priesthood,  and  or- 
dained State  education.  The  priest  stood  at  the  gate  of  knowledge  and  shut 
out  whom  he  pleased,  and  stood  inside  of  the  gate  and  gave  just  as  much  as 
he  pleased.  He  practiced  that  principle,  which  has  been  well  phrased  by 
one  of  our  poets,  which  embraces  all  the  policy  of  Rome: 

"Be  to  their  virtues  very  kind. 
Be  to  their  faults  a  little  blind  ; 
But  put  the  padlock  on  the  mind." 

Aye,  sir,  Rome  would  place  that  padlock  on  the  human  mind,  and  would 
ever  keep  the  key  for  herself.  The  common  school  opened  wide  those  doors 
and  has  said  to  every  boy  and  girl :  "Come  in,  come  in,  for  knowledge  here 
shall  be  free,"  and  Rome  stands  at  the  wide-opened  gate,  looking  jealously, 
and  murmurs  and  complains  and  resists,  and  says:  "It  shall  not  longer 
be." 

They  have  objected,  too,  to  the  idea  of  the  Bible  in  public  schools,  and  we 
have  met  them  at  that  issue;  but  the  Tabid,  of  New  York,  said,  last  summer, 
"  We  don't  care  whether  the  Bible  is  in  the  schools  or  not ;  our  objection  is 
not  so  much  to  the  Bible,  but  to  the  schools  themselves."  I  am  glad  they 
have  spoken  thus  plainly.  Meet  them  on  that  issue.  Here  and  now  we  nuiy 
say — and  let  your  word  of  this  convention  be  the  word  of  Pennsylvania 
Methodists — "  We  will  guard  these  public  schools,  and  let  Rome  harm  them 
at  her  peril." 

I  have  a  friend,  a  publisher  of  one  of  the  most  largely  circulated  illustrated 


112  MINUTES   OF   CONVENTIOX. 

papers  in  this  country,  and  sometimes  its  cartoons  are  terribly  severe  against 
Rome.  A  gentleman  who  knows  my  friend  asked  him,  not  long  since, 
"  What  is  the  reason  why  you  are  earnest  on  this  subject  of  the  growth  of 
Kome?"  Said  he:  "  When  the  slaveholders  were  coming,  step  by  step,  and 
getting  possession  of  the  country  we  didn't  wake  up  soon  enough  ;  we 
didn't  strike  the  blow  early  enough.  I  am  determined,  for  my  part,  that  I 
will  not  be  too  late  this  time."  Do  you  say  so  to-day?  [Voices,  '-Yes."] 
Well,  let  us  all  say  it.  We  have  determined,  for  our  part,  that  we  will  not 
be  too  late  this  time. 

Rev.  Db.  Payne. — I  came  here  with  no  thought  of  speaking  upon  this  sub- 
ject, but  since  you  have  called  me  to  my  feet,  I  might  appear  indifl'erent  to 
a  question  of  most  vital  interest  if  I  did  not  give  utterance  to  a  few  words 
concerning  it.  The  clamor  that  comes  to  us  against  the  ptiblic  school,  comes 
from  the  same  source  as  the  clamor  ag.iinst  our  American  Sabbath,  and 
against  legislation  with  respect  to  the  liquor  traffic:  they  all  have  the  same 
origin  and  the  same  inspiration,  and  we  have  got  to  battle  with  them  all. 

Now  the  question  in  its  broadest  statement,  1  think  is,  whether  this  nation, 
in  its  future,  is  to  be  a  Christian  or  a  non  Christian  nation.  It  is  argued 
speciously,  in  some  of  our  religious  papers,  that  we  are  to  be  non-Christian 
in  our  character.  Sometimes  it  is  stated  "  unbigoted,"  "non-sectarian," 
but  I  think  it  means  non-Christian.  Now  I  am  not  a  bigot.  I  think  I  have 
as  little  of  that  element  in  my  bosom  as  almost  any  one,  and  yet  I  recognize 
and  rejoice  in  the  fact  that  this  nation  is  historically,  traditionally,  constitu- 
tionally, a  Cliristian  nation;  and  that  it  is  to  be  conserved  through  all  com- 
ing time  with  this  distinctive  Christian  character.  I  need  not  tell  this  audi- 
ence  that  I  sprang  from  the  good  old  Puritanic  stock.  My  early  home  was 
in  New  England.  I  suppose  Puritanic  blood  runs  in  my  veins.  1  can  never 
forget  that  noble  band  that  landed  on  Plymouth  rock,  and  that  picture  has 
been  in  my  mind  from  my  childhood — the  first  Sabbath  on  this  continent 
passed  by  that  noble  baud.  With  savage  hordes  around  them,  and  winter's 
storms  sweeping  over  them,  without  home  or  shelter,  nothing  but  "  a  screen 
of  leafless  branches  between  them  and  the  blast,"  they  paused  and  worshiped 
God  on  tliat  first  Sabbath-day. 

"Amid  the  storm  they  sang. 

And  the  stars  heard  and  the  sea; 
And  the  sounding  aisles  of  the  dim  wood  rang 
To  the  Anihcni  of  llie  free." 

They  planted  this  nation,  sir,  on  Cliristian  I'dundations  ;  and  tlicy  planted 
a  tree  of  nmrvelovis  growtii.  It  has  taken  root;  its  branches  have  spread 
out  over  the  wliole  continent,  and  you  and  I  are  enjoying  its  full,  rich  fruit- 
age to-day.  Now,  sir,  I  am  ready  and  willing,  with  all  others,  to  receive  our 
Gorman  brethren  witii  oprn  arms,  bill  1  am  luii  willing  they  should  bring 
Germany  with  them.  We  want  tlie  luirdy  sons  of  Kathorland  and  of  the 
EmeraM  isle,  but  we  do  not  want  Germany,  and  we  do  not  want  Rome;  wc 
propose  to  be  an  American  nation;  an<l  the  brethren  that  come  to  us — and  wo 


ADDRESS   OF   T.  W.  PRICE,  ESQ.  113 

open  our  arms  wide  to  receive  them  from  all  parts  of  tlie  world — must  accept 
our  type  of  civilization,  and  our  type  of  Christianity.  And  in  making  these 
statements  I  trust  I  make  them  on  tiie  broadest  basis  of  Christianity.  I  liold 
that  a  republican  form  of  government  cannot  exist  with  any  other  founda- 
tion than  that  of  Cliristianity.  Our  public  schools  are  the  basis  upon  whicli 
our  republican  form  of  government  is  established;  and  if  you  knock  that 
pillar  out,  the  whole  fabric  will  totter  and  fall.  Not  then  as  a  Christian 
minister,  not  by  any  means  as  a  Methodist  minister,  but  as  a  Christian  citi- 
zen, I  stand  here  to  argue  for  tlie  public  school — and  for  the  public  school 
with  the  moral  teachings  of  the  Bible. 

One  word  more.  Let  me  say  to  these  Methodists  in  Convention  here  to- 
day, that  our  action  with  reference  to  this  question,  and  all  other  questions, 
is  of  the  most  vital  importance.  I  was  filled  with  gratitude,  sir,  at  the  statis- 
tical report  made  the  other  evening,  and  I  was  also  oppressed  with  a  sense 
of  our  responsibilities.  According  to  that  report,  one-tenth  of  the  popula- 
tion of  this  State  is  under  our  religious  care.  I  argue  more.  The  Committee 
multiplied  the  membership  by  three  to  estimate  the  number  of  Methodist 
adherents.  T  suppose  a  fairer  estimate  would  be  to  multiply  by  four  or 
five.  Multiplied  by  three,  we  have  one-tenth;  multiplied  by  five,  we  have 
one-seventh  of  the  population  of  this  State.  And  more  ;  we  have  here  repre- 
sented, in  this  Convention,  the  membership  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  of  Pennsylvania,  and  that  membership  is  more  than  one-tenth  of  the 
entire  membership  of  the  whole  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  More  than 
that ;  our  central  locality,  vast  resources  and  wealth,  make  it  a  fair  estimate 
that  Pennsylvania  Methodism  has  nearly  one-sixth,  at  least  one-eighth,  of 
the  entire  wealth  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States  ;  and 
we  represent  here,  in  this  Convention,  all  this  wealth  and  influence.  Our  ac- 
tion is  therefore  of  vital  importance :  we  ought  to  stand  in  the  very  fore-front 
of  every  movement  that  looks  towards  education,  evangelization,  the  estab- 
lishment of  our  Church  upon  a  broad  and  generous  basis,  and  the  conserva- 
tion of  the  Republic. 

T.  W.  Price — I  desire  to  make  but  a  single  remark  in  reply  to  the  speak- 
er that  has  discussed  this  question  against  the  resolution.  I  believe,  Mr. 
Chairman,  in  being  cautious,  in  the  largest  liberty  of  conscience,  that  we 
should  require  nothing  of  any  fellow-citizen  that  we  are  not  willing  to  sub- 
mit to  ourselves  ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  I  think  we  are  prepared  to  dcciile 
this  question  in  the  affirmative  by  the  adoption,  unanimously,  I  trust,  of 
the  resolutions  under  consideration.  I  submit  that  if  it  becomes  a  ques- 
tion as  to  whether  the  Bible  is  to  be  taken  from  the  public  schools  or  not,  we 
should  decide  that  question  of  our  own  volition,  and  not  be  coerced  by  infi- 
delity or  popery. 

This  is  the  point  I  desire  to  make.  We  may  listen  to  what  they  have  to  say. 
If  they  think  we  are  encroaching  upon  their  rights  of  conscience  we  will  listen 
to  thcin,  and  if  satisfied  ihey  are  riglit  and  we  are  wrong,  we  will  act  accord- 
ingly, but  we  will  not  yield  to  their  demand.  I  take  it,  sir,  that  the  position 
held  by  Dr.  Crooks  is  the  true  state  of  the  case.  It  is  Rome,  Rome  that  makes 
this  demand  ;  and  /  icould  not  yield  because  it  is  Rome! 

8 


114  MINUTES   OF   CONVENTION. 

Ret.  Dr.  Ktnett — There  is  a  thought  or  tvvo  in  my  mind  that  I  think 
ought  to  be  in  the  mind  of  this  Convention.  The  first  is  this:  The  proposi- 
tion before  the  American  people  is  not  to  put  the  Bible  into  the  common 
schools  by  legislation,  but  to  put  it  out  of  the  common  schools  by  legislation ; 
that  is  the  form  in  which  this  question  comes  before  the  American  people. 
I  want  to  call  the  attention  of  the  Convention  to  the  inevitable  effect  of  the 
silent  influence  of  such  an  act  on  the  part  of  the  people  of  this  country.  I 
have  an  illustration  of  it  in  the  case  of  Girard  College,  if  I  am  correctly  in- 
formed with  regard  to  the  facts.  The  single  prohibitory  provision  in  the 
will  of  Mr.  Girard  in  providing  for  the  endowment  of  that  college,  is  directed 
against  clergymen — not  against  good  morals,  not  against  Christianity,  not 
against  the  Bible,  but  against  the  clerical  profession.  Now,  sir,  the  fact  is 
that  among  all  the  students  that  have  been  educated  in  Girard  College,  not 
one  has  ever  become  a  minister. 

Dr.  Allen  (interrupting) — That  is  a  mistake:  one  of  them  is  an  Episcopal 
clergyman.  The  day  before  he  was  ordained  he  came  to  bid  us  farewell,  as 
he  never  could  see  us  again. 

Dr  Ktxett — I  am  happy,  sir,  to  learn  of  a  single  exception  to  the  rule, 
but  the  force  of  the  suggestion  is  none  the  less  strong.  If  a  provision  of 
that  kind,  made  by  a  single  man,  has  been  so  potent  in  its  influence  upon  the 
minds  of  the  students  of  that  college,  what  will  be  the  influence  upon  the 
minds  of  the  American  youth,  of  the  formal  exclusion  of  the  Bible  from  our 
common  schools  by  act  of  the  whole  body  of  the  people  ? 

I  ask  this  Convention  if  they  are  prepared  to  give  our  holy  Christianity 
such  a  thrust  in  its  vital  parts.  I  want  to  call  attention  to  another  point, 
llefercnce  has  been  made  to  various  translations  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and 
the  question  has  been  raised  whether  our  Roman  Catholic  brethren  have  not 
US  niucli  right  as  we  ourselves.  I  answer.  No.  Tiie  Roman  Catholic  Church 
has  no  translation  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  without  note  or  comment.  They 
nre  not  willing  to  give  the  Bible  to  the  people  witliout  the  comments  of  the 
(^'hurch  ilirust  in  between  the  word  and  the  mind  of  the  hearer.  Let  them 
give  the  world  a  translation  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  approved  by  good  scho- 
larsliip,  wilhoui  note  or  comment,  and  I  am  willing  it  should  go  into  the 
Bchools,  but  their  case  is  not  parallel  at  all  unless  they  shall  give  us  such  a 
translation. 

Rev.  Dr.  Hodgson — There  arc  two  passing  trains  of  thought  which  have 
not  been  brought  fairly  into  collision.  The  talking  has  all  been  on  one  side. 
For  my  part  I  am  for  the  public  schools,  and  no  public  moneys  appropriated 
for  any  .sectarian  school  whatever.  I  am  for  this,  llial  those  who  cannot  ac- 
rcpl  Ihc  education  provided  by  llic  public  schools  may  provide  education  at 
their  own  expense.  Whether  the  Bible  shall  be  read  is  a  separate  question. 
I  am  for  tiie  Bible  being  read  in  our  public  schools.  But  is  the  question  of 
Ihe  <'xiHlcnce  of  our  public  schools  fairly  before  us  as  a  people?  I  dou'l 
thiuk  it  is. 

Rkv.  !):;.  (Juooks — It  is  in  New  York. 


ADDRESS   OF   DR.  HODGSON.  lly 

Rev.  Dn.  Hodgson — Well,  if  I  were  in  Now  York  I  would  oppose  any 
attack  upon  the  public  scliool  system.  I  tliink  there  are  inciiJiouH  iitlackM 
upon  our  public  school  system,  and  I  think  the  stroke  is  not  at  the  Bible,  but 
at  the  public  schools.  They  have  put  the  Bible  out  of  the  account.  But  if 
this  question  were  before  us,  "  Does  the  existence  of  the  public  schools  de- 
pend upon  our  excluding  the  Bible?"  that  would  be  another  matter.  If 
nolliing  is  to  be  gained  by  it,  I  certainly  should  not  consent;  but  if  wc  can 
retain  the  public  school  system,  or  render  it  more  efficient,  that  is  anotiier 
matter.  Now,  the  State  has  not  undertaken  to  provide  religious  education. 
We  don't  want  the  Slate  to  do  that.  If  is  to  be  done  in  another  way  in  this 
-country— by  the  Churches.  The  State  has  undertaken  to  provide  school 
education  :  that  is  all. 

The  theory  is  entertained  by  some,  that  it  is  the  duty  of  the  ruling  power 
to  provide  a  religion  for  the  people.  It  is  not  here  the  duty  of  the  Stale  to 
do  it;  and  I  am  free  to  say  now,  if  wo  could  get  all  the  Catholic  chil- 
dren into  the  public  schools  by  simply  declining  to  annoy  them,  we  do  them 
ten-fold  more  mischief  as  a  Church  than  we  can  do  by  reading  the  Bible  in 
our  public  schools.  It  is  of  that  they  complain  ;  it  is  the  coining  in  contact 
with  our  children  ;  they  are  losing  their  sons  and  daughters  by  this  contact, 
and  in  order  to  get  them,  as  a  pretext  they  say  something  about  the  reading 
of  the  Bible,  and  sectarianism,  and  then  want  appropriations  from  the  State 
to  support  their  own  schools.  But  I  don't  think  we  need  give  up  the  Bible ; 
I  am  not  in  any  great  trouble  about  it;  but  I  am  free  to  say,  that  if  the  in- 
tegrity of  the  public  school  system  were  made  to  depend  upon  it,  it  would  be 
a  very  serious  question  with  me. 

I  believe  in  the  Bible  in  the  family,  the  Bible  in  the  Church,  the  Bible  in 
the  school ;  but  after  all,  we  don't  depend  upon  the  public  schools  in  train- 
ing our  children,  either  in  religion  or  morals.  If  wc  depended  upon  the 
public  schools  for  that  there  would  not  be  much  done.  Now,  really,  these  are 
my  views,  and  I  have  held  them  for  about  twenty  years.  I  would  not  sacrifice 
the  public  schools  ;  but  then  we  need  not  do  it;  I  think  we  can  have  both. 
But,  by  the  by,  give  us  the  Bible — and  we  will  have  it,  or  fight  for  it — an 
open  Bible,  a  free  pulpit,  Sabbath-schools,  and  such  schools  as  we  see  proper 
to  have  as  a  denomination,  and  we  will  take  care  of  the  religious  instiiiciion 
of  our  children.  I  doubt  if  we  should  be  much  dependent  upon  a  Catholic 
teacher  who  may  mutter  over  a  portion  of  the  Bible,  or  an  infidel  teacher  wlio 
does  it  because  it  is  a  custom,  or  a  worldly  man  who  has  no  care  at  all  but  to 
perform  an  official  duty.  Now  and  then  a  Christian  man  may  read  it  with 
solemnity,  but  not  comment  upon  it.  We  don't  depend  upon  that  at  all.  I 
don't  know  whether  there  is  another  man  who  looks  upon  it  in  this  light,  but 
I  say  we  will  have  the  public  schools,  and  if  by  giving  up  the  Bible  we  could 
get  the  Catholics  in  them  and  hold  them,  we  should  do  them  fifty  limes  more 
damage  than  by  retaining  the  Bible  and  losing  them. 

Rev.  L.  W.  Peck — The  Bible  cannot  be  appropriated  by  any  class,  and  if 
we  shut  the  Bible  out  of  our  public  schools  it  is  appropriated  by  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church  as  a  class.     They  want  to   shut  tlie   Bible  out  of  the  public 


116  MINUTES  OF  CONVENTION". 

schools,  to  have  the  privilege  and  right  of  interpreting  it  as  a  class,  but  if 
we  put  it  in  the  schools  we  give  the  Bible  to  all,  not  as  a  text-book,  but 
islmply  in  our  schools  as  the  foundation  of  our  liberty. 

Judge  McCalmont  moved  that  Rev.  J.  J.  F.  Briinow  be 
allowed  to  prepare  his  remarks  on  the  German  work,  in  Penn- 
sylvania, and  furnish  them  to  the  Secretary  for  publication  in 
the  printed  proceedings  of  the  Convention,  which  was  adopted. 

Captain  Schluembach,  of  East  Mauch  Chunk,  moved  to  so 
amend  the  resalutions  as  to  require  the  attendance  of  the  chil- 
dren at  our  public  schools.  The  amendment  was  laid  on  the 
table. 

The  resolutions  of  the  Committee  were  then  adopted. 

Prof.  Saunders,  of  this  city,  was  introduced  to  the  Con- 
vention. 

On  motion,  adjoui'ned. 

Doxology  was  sung. 

Benediction  by  Dr.  R.  L.  Dashiell. 


EIGHTH  SESSION. 

St.  George's  M.  E.  Chukch,  PiiiLADELriiiA. 

Thursday  evening^  October  20tlt,  1870. 

The  Convention  met  according  to  adjournment  at  7|  o'clock. 

Rev.  C.  Cooke,  D.  D.,  in  the  chair. 

Religious  services  were  conducted  by  Rev.  S.  W.  Weiss,  of 
the  Wyoming  Conference. 

Tiic  Mimitcs  of  the  afternoon  session  were  read  and  ap- 
proved. 

Rev.  S.  W.  Weiss  offered  the  following  resolution,  which- 
was  adopted,  vi/. 

RfxolvdI.  Thiit  a  CoTniniltce  consisiiiijf  of  Dr.  Robt.  If.  Pnttison,  Rev.  I.  II. 
Torrencc,  iiml  Rev.  W.  .1  Paxsoii,  bo  appointed  to  publish  the  proceedings  of 
thi8  Convention  in  l)ook  form. 

On  motion  of  Rev.  M.  JI.  Sisty,  Rev.  S.  W.  Thoma.s,  Thos.. 
W.  J*ric(',  .lohii  Wliiteman,  and  Col.  -lolni  A.  Wright,  were 
a<l<le(l  to  the  Committee. 


ESSAY   OF    HON.  H.  L.  KICHMOND.  117 

Judge  McCalmont,  H.  R.  Mosser,  Esq.,  Dr.  Jolin  Rhoads, 
Hon.  J.  F.  Kreps,  James  Black,  Esq.,  and  Capt.  Schluerabaeh 
were,  on  motion,  added  to  the  Committee  appointed  to  consider 
the  propriety  of  liolding  another  State  Convention. 

The  Committee  had  })ermission  to  retire  and  prepare  their 
report. 

The  Chair  announced  the  subject  of  the  evening  to  be — "  The 
duty  of  the  Christian  citizen  to  the  State." 

Committee — William  H.  Allen,  LL.  D.,  Hon.  H.  L.  Rich- 
mond, Rev.  S.  H.  Nesbitt,  D.  D. 

Wm.  H.  Allen,  LL.  D.,  Chairman  of  the  Committee,  pre- 
sented the  following  paper : 

Mr.  President :  The  subject  which  lias  been  assigned  to  the  Committee  of 
which  I  have  the  honor  to  be  Chairman  is  "  The  duty  of  the  Christian  citizen  to 
the  State."  My  colleagues  have  very  kindly  agreed  to  relieve  me  of  a  great 
part  of  the  work  which  usually  devolves  on  the  Chairman,  by  a  division  ot 
the  subject  and  the  labor.  As  our  time  has  been  wisely  limited  to  one  hour, 
each  member  of  our  Committee  has  agreed  to  write  an  essay  and  to  occupy 
twenty  minutes  in  reading  it. 

We  have  adopted  the  following  division  of  our  subject: 

The  duty  of  the  Christian  citizen  to  the  State — 1st,  As  apolitical  organism 
— the  depository  of  political  power,  and  the  conservator  of  political  rights. 
This  part  by  Mr.  Richmond. 

2d,  As  a  Commonwealth — the  conservator  of  civil  rights,  and  the  promjter 
of  material  prosperity.     This  division  has  been  left  to  me. 

3d,  As  a  moral  person — the  conservator  of  individual  and  public  morality, 
and  the  guardian  of  religious  liberty.  Dr.  Nesbitt  will  speak  on  this  di- 
vision. 

If  the  Convention  approve  of  our  plan  and  will  consent  to  hear  us  in  the 
order  just  named,  the  Hon.  H.  L.  Richmond  will  read  first. 

Essay  of  Hon.  H.  L.  Richmond. 

The  subject  for  consideration  this  evening  is,  "The  duty  of  the  Christian 
citizen  to  the  State." 

The  Committee,  to  whom  this  subject  was  assigned,  have  concurred  in  the 
suggestion  of  Dr.  Allen,  their  worthy  and  venerable  Chairman,  that,  for  the 
purposes  of  the  discussion,  the  State  might  be  considered  in  a  three-foli 
aspect: — 

1.  As  a  political  organization — the  depository  of  political  power,  and  the  con- 
servator of  political  rights. 

2.  As  a  Commoniveallh — the  conservator  of  civil  rights,  and  the  promoter 
of  material  well  being. 


118  MINUTES   OF   CONVENTION". 

3.  As  a  moral  person — the  conservator  of  public  and  private  morality,  and 
of  religious  liberty. 

My  theme  will  be,  for  some  twenty  minutes,  the  duty  of  the  Christian  citizen 
to  the  State,  as  a  political  organization,  the  depository  of  political  power, 
and  the  conservator  of  political  rights. 

The  State  is  a  fact  that  exists  everywhere,  where  men  associate,  whether 
in  savage,  civilized,  or  enlightened  life.  It  is  not  the  community  simply, 
but  it  is  what  results  from  the  community.  Three  men  are  thrown  together 
upon  an  island.  Now,  those  three  men,  thus  thrown  together,  and  com- 
pelled, as  it  were,  to  associate,  do  not  constitute  the  State,  and  yet,  tlie  State, 
in  the  sense  in  which  we  use  the  term,  results  of  necessity,  and  exists  from 
the  moment  of  their  coming  together. 

It  is  a  lamentable  fact,  that  men  will  not  perform,  voluntarily,  their  social 
duties,  or  regard  and  respect  the  rights  of  others.  Hence,  it  results,  neces- 
sarily, that  evei-y  community  must  have,  in  some  form,  the  power  to  compel 
(he  right  to  be  observed  and  justice  to  be  done.  A  State,  then,  is  a  com- 
munity invested  with  this  power.  It  may  be  three  individuals,  on  a  lone 
island,  in  mid  sea;  it  maybe  a  great  Commonwealth,  like  our  own  noble 
State ;  it  may  be  a  vast  family  of  Commonwealths,  a  Union  of  many  States, 
embracing  immense  territory,  and  many  varieties  of  climate,  like  our  own 
Confederation.  Through  all  grades  of  society,  relations  among  men,  from 
the  lowest  to  the  highest,  from  the  most  degraded  to  the  most  enlightened, 
from  the  weakest  to  the  strongest,  this  power  exists,  and  is,  of  necessity, 
called  into  action  in  some  form.  It  may  be  through  the  will  of  one  man,  as 
the  acknowledged  head  of  the  community,  and  is  then  known  as  a  despotism; 
it  may  be  the  will  of  the  community  itself,  expressed  in  some  direct  form,  or 
by  representation.  In  whatever  form  expressed,  when  ascertained  and  pro- 
mulgated, it  becomes  a  law,  or  a  rule  of  conduct,  for  the  time  being,  to  that 
community,  and  the  individual  members  thereof  are  expected  to  observe  and 
obey  it  without  much  regard  to  its  character.  And  here,  perhaps,  comes  in 
the  first  and  one  of  tlie  most  difBcult  questions  to  be  solved  satisfactorily  by 
the  Christian  citizen:  What  is  his  duty  if  the  law  is  a  bad  law?  In  that 
case  he  must,  as  we  conceive,  and  for  various  reasons,  that  we  cannot  pause 
to  consider,  at  least  submit  to  that  law,  until  it  is,  in  some  form,  repealed  or 
abrogated.  1  will  not  say,  he  must  ol)ey  it,  regardless  of  the  character  of 
its  requisitions.  That,  perhaps,  is  a  matter  of  conscience  which  lie  must 
Bettle  for  himself.  He  must,  however,  obey  or  abide  the  penalty,  so  long  as 
it  remains  upon  the  Statute  Book.  A  liigh  authority  has  commanded  us  "to 
be  subject  to  principalities  and  powers." 

Now,  if  it  be  a  bad  law,  either  because  it  is  oppressive,  or  because  it  per- 
mits or  licenses  practices  of  an  immoral  character,  somebody  is  responsible 
for  it ;  and  tliat  somebody  is  the  party  who  made,  or  contributed  to  make 
it.  In  a  despotism,  the  people,  the  individual  members  of  the  community, 
may  not  be  responsible,  to  any  great  extent,  for  tlie  character  of  their  laws; 
for  they  iiave  but  little,  if  anything,  to  do  with  the  making  of  tlicm.  But 
how  is  it  in  a  Government  like  ours? — a  free  Government,  in  the  fullest  and 
grandest  acceptation  of  that  term  ;  a  Govcrntnent  which  recognizes  Ciiristi- 


ESSAY  OF   HON.  H.  L.  RICHMOND.  119 

anity  as  a  part  of  the  common  law  of  the  land,  and  has  stamped  upon  itd 
coin,  that  simple  and  yet  profound  sentiment,  that  beautiful  and  impressive 
legend,  "in  god  we  trust?" 

We  have  no  law,  to  which  we  have  not,  in  some  form,  previously  deter- 
mined upon  or  assented ;  and  no  law  can  remain  such  one  hour  longer  than  vre 
are  pleased  to  permit.  We,  the  people,  make  the  laws,  because  we,  of  pur- 
pose, send  the  men  to  the  Legislature  who  do  make  them  ;  we,  the  people, 
interpret  and  administer  the  laws,  for  we  place  upon  the  Bench  the  men  who 
do  interpret  and  administer  them;  we,  the  people,  execute  the  laws,  for  we 
place  in  the  several  executive  departments  of  the  Government  the  men  who 
do  execute  them.  We,  the  people,  then,  make  and  interpret,  and  administer 
and  execute  the  laws,  and  if  we  have  bad  laws,  badly  interpreted,  wickedly 
administered,  and  wretchedly  executed,  we,  the  people,  are  to  blame  for  it. 
And  you  and  I,  saying  nothing  of  the  obligations  which  Christianity  im- 
poses, should  be  held  responsible  here,  as  we  most  certainly  shall  be  here- 
after, for  wrong  acting  and  neglect  of  duty  in  this  regard. 

While  the  obligation  to  secure  proper  legislation,  and  to  elevate  proper 
men  to  official  position,  rests  equally  upon  all,  its  faithful  and  honest 
discharge  is  especially  demandable  at  the  hands  of  the  Christian  citizen;  and 
he  cannot  escape  from  its  discharge  and  be  held  blameless.  For  it  is  be- 
yond a  doubt  he  holds  in  his  hands  to-day,  if  he  is  only  disposed  to  use  it, 
the  power  to  regulate  and  control  the  entire  machinery  of  the  Government. 

It  is,  perhaps,  proper  for  me  to  say  in  this  connection,  that  by  the  term 
Christian  citizen  I  do  not  mean  the  Church  member  merely,  but  I  mean  the 
man  who  believes  in  the  great  doctrines  of  Christianity  and  endeavors  to 
square  his  life  by  them,  be  he  in  or  out  of  the  Church. 

Now,  I  lay  down  this  proposition:  Every  Christian  man,  lay  or  clerical,  in 
♦  he  Church  or  out  of  it,  should,  in  the  proper  meaning  of  the  term,  be  a 
politician,  and  an  active  and  energetic  one.  I  know  there  is  an  odium  and  an 
odor  attaching  to  the  term  from  which  every  honest  man  who  has  any  regard 
for  his  personal  purity  instinctively  shrinks.  But  why  is  this?  The  proper 
meaning  of  the  term  is,  "One  versed  in  the  science  of  Government  and  the 
art  of  governing."  Politics,  then,  properly  understood,  is  among  the  noblest 
of  sciences.  Why,  then,  so  much  popular  odium  attaching  to  their  study  and 
practice?  A  pure  and  upright  man  would  almost  as  soon  be  called  a  "  sheep 
thief"  as  a  politician.  Why  is  this  ?  Why  has  the  noble  science  of  govern- 
ing men  been  brought  into  such  amazing  disrepute  ?  For  a  very  obvious 
reason.  Good  and  reliable  men  hivve  been  neglectful  of  their  duty,  and  have 
suffered  the  politics  of  the  country,  to  a  great  extent,  to  get  into  the  hands 
of  a  set  of  dishonest,  political  charlatans,  who  seek  only  their  own  aggran- 
dizement, or  that  of  men  of  their  own  class,  and  who,  to  accomplish  a  pur- 
pose, will  resort  to  any  means,  however  disreputable  or  corrupt.  This  state 
of  things  should  be  no  longer  permitted.  If  we  do  not  wish  our  country  to 
follow  the  early  republics  to  the  tomb  of  nations,  and  that  perhaps  at  no  dis- 
tant day,  a  change  must  be  wrought  and  the  political  atmosphere  purified. 


120  MINUTES   OF   CONVENTIOiSr. 

"Corruption  is  a  tree,  whose  branches  are 
Of  an  immeasurable  length  ;  they  spread 
Everywhere  ;  and  the  dew  that  drops  from  them 
Hath  infected  some  chairs  and  stools  of  authority," 

Only  think  of  it.  An  infidel  judge,  administering  an  oath  to  a  witness  to 
tell  the  truth,  the  whole  truth,  and  nothing  but  the  truth,  and  invoking  upon 
him  the  vengeance  of  Heaven  if  he  shall  falsify ;  an  unbelieving  member 
elect  of  the  Legislature,  swearing  to  do  his  whole  duty  as  such,  and,  with 
uplifted  hand,  imprecating  the  wrath  of  the  Almighty  if  he  shall  fail.  What 
solemn  mockery!  what  fearful  blasphemy!  Not  a  day  passes  that  we  are 
not  compelled  to  witness  such  moral  incongruities.  And  yet  we  slumber, 
and  make  no  effort  to  prevent  a  repetition,  in  the  future,  of  such  an  insult 
to  our  moral  and  religious  sentiments  and  feelings. 

I  repeat,  then,  the  Christian  man  should  be,  in  the  proper  and  noble  mean- 
ing of  the  term,  a  politician.  He  should,  as  opportunity  may  oifer,  cul- 
tivate the  science  of  Government  and  the  art  of  governing,  that  he  may  the 
more  properly  appreciate  the  privileges  and  estimate  the  responsibilities  of 
Christian  citizenship,  and  be  the  better  prepared  to  discharge  faithfully  the 
duties  it  imposes.  And  no  more  important  duty  is  demanded  at  his  hands 
than  the  selection  of  proper  men  to  fill  the  various  offices  of  the  country. 
Inactivity  and  indifference  here  is  a  sin  against  the  country  and  its  institu- 
tutions.  He  should  not  only  seek,  but  he  should  strive  to  elevate  to  posi- 
sitions  of  confidence  and  trust  men  honest  and  capable.  In  what  manner  is 
he  to  accomplish  this?  By  taking  no  part  in  politics?  By  staying  at  home 
and  leaving  our  primary  meetings  to  the  management  of  men  from  whom 
nothing  honest  or  commendable  or  praiseworthy  can  be  expected  ?  Leave 
the  selection  of  candidates  for  office  to  the  actioQ  of  men  who  have  no  regard 
for  the  good  order  and  morals  of  society,  and  no  respect  for  our  common 
Christianity,  or  the  religious  sentiment  of  the  age  ?  In  thus  acting  they 
neglect  a  plain,  palpable,  and  positive  duty.  Knowing  that  the  Government 
must  be  just  Avhat  the  people  make  it,  they  refrain  from  participating  in 
politics,  and  then  complain  that  it  is  illy  conducted ;  pronounce  the  party 
with  which  they  have  been  accustomed  to  act  corrupt,  and  make  no  efforts  to 
purify  it;  never  attend  caucuses  and  conventions,  and  then  find  fault  with 
the  nominations;  stand  by  and  see  the  citadel  of  our  hopes  set  on  fire,  and 
make  no  efforts  to  extinguish  it.  Neglect  voting,  stay  away  from  the  elec- 
tions, and  by  this  negative  act,  at  least,  contribute  to  place  in  power  un- 
worthy men — irreligious,  immoral,  profane,  intemperate,  infidel,  vulgar,  dis- 
honest, disreputable.  Intrust  the  making  and  tlie  administration  of  the  laws 
to  such  men,  and  too  late  shed  repentant  tears  in  view  of  the  ruin  that  is 
wrought.  Now,  do  not  misunderstand  mo.  I  do  not  charge  that  all,  or  ihe 
larger  portion,  even,  of  our  men  in  office,  are  of  the  character  described.  I 
am  proud  to  acknowledge  that  we  have  many,  very  many,  excellent  and  fit 
men  in  office,  from  our  noble  President  down,  through  all  the  departments  of 
the  Government.  But  wiiat  1  do  complain  of  is,  that  mainly  because  of 
neglect  upon  the  part  of  the   Christian  citi/.en  of  a  plain  and  palpable  duty. 


ESSAY   OF   HON.  H.  L.  RICHMOND.  121 

too  many  such  men  get  into  places  of  power  and  trust.  They  are  the  men 
who  are  generally  the  most  brazen-faced  and  too  frequently  the  most  success- 
ful in  seeking  office.  You  find  them  in  our  legislative  halls,  and  hence  laws 
legalizing  the  traffic  in  liquid  death,  and  regulating,  instead  of  forbidding 
under  severest  penalty,  houses  of  assignation  and  impurity.  You  have  them 
on  the  Bench,  hence  the  licensed  "  doggeries,"  whose  midnight  revels  disturb 
and  render  hideous  the  liour  assigned  to  quiet  and  refreshing  slumber.  You 
have  them  in  our  various  administrative  and  executive  departments,  and 
hence  the  enormous  defalcations  with  which  the  country  is  many  times 
amazed.  These  things  are  not  so  infrequent  as  to  render  it  necessary  to  call 
your  attention  to  them.  Indeed,  they  have  become  so  common  in  all  our 
cities  and  larger  towns,  that  from  their  very  frequency  they  pass  almost  un- 
noticed, until  some  enormity,  some  great  crime,  perhaps,  perpetrated  in  some 
dark  recess  of  these  licensed  dens  of  mischief  and  iniquity,  startles  the  whole 
community,  and,  for  a  moment,  at  least,  awakens  attention  to  what  is  going 
on  in  their  midst. 

What  follows  from  these  considerations?  Most  clearly  and  plainly,  that  it 
is  a  duty  devolving  upon  every  man,  and  especially  every  Christian  citizen, 
to  be  active,  and  yet  cautious,  in  selecting  men  for  office — men  of  proper 
qualifications,  moral  and  intellectual,  and  then  honest  and  energetic  in  etl'orts 
to  secure  their  election.  The  old  Jeffersonian  rule,  "  Is  he  honest?  Is  he  capa- 
ble?" should  always  determine  our  choice  of  candidates.  The  first  question  to 
be  settled  is,  "Is  he  honest?"  Is  he  a  man  of  reliable  integrity?  Can  be  be 
trusted  ?  I  care  not  how  greatly  a  man  may  be  endowed  intellectually,  how 
capable  he  may  be  to  discharge  the  duties  of  the  office,  if  his  personal  in- 
tegrity is  open  to  suspicion,  if  he  has  no  regard  for  Christian  morality  and 
precepts,  no  respect  for  Christian  sentiment,  he  is  a  dangerous  man,  unfit  for 
the  position,  and  cannot  safely  be  trusted  with  the  power  and  patronage  of 
office;  and  the  more  dangerous  just  as  he  rises  in  intellectual  power  and 
strength,  because  of  the  increased  ability  to  do  mischief  which  they  confer. 
Lord  Bacon  was  said  to  be  "the  wisest,  greatest,  meanest  of  mankind." 
Why  the  meanest?  Because  he  lacked  that  substratum  of  moral  character 
which  would  have  saved  him  probably  from  prostituting  the  mightiest  of  in- 
tellects to  the  meanest  and  most  corrupt  of  purposes.  Ought  such  a  man  to 
command  the  suffrages  of  a  free  and  Christian  people  ?  Never!  These  are 
considerations  which  no  conscientious  man,  no  Christian  citizen,  while  he 
cherishes  the  purpose  to  do  his  whole  duty,  can  neglect,  when  called  upon  to 
make  his  choice  of  the  men  who  are  to  make  and  administer  the  laws. 

The  ballot !  Did  you,  my  friends,  ever  reflect  upon  the  power  for  good  or 
evil  contained  in  that  little  slip  of  paper  called  the  ballot,  the  freeman's 
weapon  ?  By  it  you  elevate  to  power  the  good  or  the  bad,  just  as  you  are 
careful  or  careless  of  your  duty.  By  it  you  bring  upon  your  country  weal 
or  woe,  just  as  you  are  regardful  or  regardless  of  the  character  of  the  men 
you  elevite  to  power  and  place.  In  despotic  Governments  the  only  remedy 
against  tyranny  and  oppression  is  revolution.  In  a  republic,  such  as  ours, 
we  h^-ve  a  remedy  against  all  political  ills,  peaceful,  quiet,  and  certain. 


122  MINUTES   OF   CONVENTION. 

There  is  a  weapon  firmer  set, 
And  better  than  the  bayonet, 
A  weapon  that  comes  down  as  still 

As  snow-flakes  fall  upon  the  sod, 
And  executes  a  freeman's  will 

As  lightnings  do  the  will  of  God, 
And  from  its  force  nor  bolts  nor  locks 
Can  shield  them  ; — 'tis  the  ballot-box. 

I  know  a  great  deal  is  said  about  fealty  to  party.  Bad  men  will  some- 
times secure  nomination  for  office,  and  then  endeavor  to  bring  you  under  the 
ban  of  party  if  you  do  not  vote  for  them.  In  a  Government  like  ours  parties 
must  exist  from  the  very  nature  of  the  case.  Were  it  otlierwise,  it  would 
argue  a  stolidity  of  national  intellect  truly  amazing.  Indeed,  it  is  desirable 
that  they  should  exist,  and  they  should  keep  vigilant  watch,  the  one  of  the 
other,  that  it  may  be  seen  that  neither  encroaclies  upon  the  rights  of  the 
people.  But  how  far  do  we  owe  fealty  to  party?  I  answer.  Just  so  far,  and 
no  farther,  as  party,  in  selecting  its  candidates,  shows  its  fealty  to  virtue, 
integrity,  intelligence.  Christian  morality,  and  fitness  for  the  position.  My 
party  has  no  right  to  command  my  vote  unconditionally.  If  it  place  in 
nomination  a  man  of  intemperate  habits,  suspected  integrity,  doubtful  mo- 
rality, and  regardless  of  the  Christian  sentiment  and  sympathies  of  the  age, 
it  has  no  right  to  demand  my  vote.  I  may  not,  probably  would  not  vote  for 
the  candidate  of  the  opposing  party ;  but,  if  I  desire  to  preserve  my  con- 
sistency as  a  Christian  citizen,  I  cannot  vote  for  such  a  nominee.  It  ought 
not  to  be  expected  of  me. 

This  may  seem  a  little  strange  to  those  present,  who  have  known  me  for 
the  last  thirty  years,  and  who  know  with  what  tenacity  I  have  adhered  to  my 
party,  and  on  all  suitable  occasions  labored  to  secure  its  ascendency.  Being 
a  Aletliodist,  it  follows  as  a  proper,  logical  sequence  that  I  am  a  Republican, 
and  I  expect  to  remain  in  her  ranks  so  long  as  she  keeps  her  banner  pure. 
But  1  am  preaching  no  new  doctrine  While  as  a  party  man  I  have  never 
felt  at  liberty  to  vote  for  a  candidate  of  the  opposite  party,  I  have  some- 
times, for  the  reasons  given,  felt  constrained  to  refuse  my  vote  to  nominees 
of  my  own  party.  But  my  time  closes  upon  me,  and  I  will  add  only  a  thought 
or  two.  I  leave,  of  necessity,  untouched  many  topics  germane  to  the  subject 
I  have  been  attempting  to  discuss  ;  but  I  feel  assured  if  the  Christian  citizen 
does  his  duty  in  the  matters  we  have  attempted  to  press  upon  his  considera- 
tion he  will  achieve  much  good  to  his  race  and  nation. 

Let  me,  for  a  moment,  come  a  little  nearer  home.  A  learned  professor  of 
the  University  of  Michigan  said  to  me,  the  other  day.  The  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Cliurch  can  do  more  than  any  other  religious  body  in  the  land  to  resist 
the  encroachments  and  shame  the  assumptions  of  Romanism."  In  this  ho 
uttered  a  truth  that  few,  if  any,  will  be  di.«posed  to  deny.  And  so,  on  all 
important  questions  that  are  legitimate  for  her  consideration,  God,  in  His 
providence,  has  conferred  upon  her  all  the  elements  of  strength  necessary  to 
achieve  success  in  each  and  all   the  great   reforms   of  the   day.     Ilcr  word, 


ESSAY   BY   W.  H.  ALLEN,  LL.  D.  123 

when  uttered,  whether  on  the  temperance,  the  school,  or  the  Sabbath  ques- 
tion, has  a  power  in  it  that  makes  itself  felt  throughout  the  land — on  its 
mountains,  in  its  valleys,  in  the  city  full,  and  in  the  rude  log-cabin,  forest- 
hidden,  on  our  remotest  frontier.  Let  her  speak,  then,  on  the  great  subject 
we  have  been  discussing ;  let  her  demand  of  the  parties  pure  men,  and  able, 
for  exalted  positions  ;  let  her  speak  in  her  individual  membership  ;  let  her 
voice  come  up  from  her  Conferences  and  Conventions  in  no  uncertain  tones  ; 
let  her,  under  the  blessing  of  Him  who  inhabiteth  eternity,  do  her  whole 
duty,  and  the  future  alone  will  unfold  what  a  power  she  has  been  in  the  re- 
formation and  redemption  of  the  world. 

Essay  of  W.  H.  Allen,  LL.D. 

The  State,  considered  as  a  Commonwealth,  is  a  formal  organization  which 
defines  and  protects  the  civil  rights  of  the  people  within  its  limits,  and  pro- 
motes their  well-being.  Its  ends  are  order,  peace,  and  justice.  It  defines 
civil  rights  by  its  organic  and  statute  laws,  and  enforces  them  by  its  judicial 
and  executive  powers.  It  provides  remedies  for  wrongs,  and  inflicts  penal- 
ties for  crimes.  The  preservation  of  the  family  and  marriage,  the  education 
of  youth,  the  encouragement  of  industry,  the  security  of  property,  and  the 
protection  of  reputation,  health  and  life,  are  its  appropriate  functions,  and 
are  embraced  within  tbe  sphere  of  its  legislation. 

When  justice  holds  her  even  balance,  blindfold  to  high  and  low,  rich  and 
poor,  but  clear-sighted  to  the  right,  public  order  will  be  maintained,  crimes 
punished,  persons  and  property  protected. 

When  legislation  aims  only  at  the  public  good,  and  wise  laws  are  enacted, 
industry  will  receive  its  reward,  education  will  be  diffused,  and  wealth  ac- 
cumulated. 

When  the  chief  magistrate  administers  the  affairs  of  the  Commonwealth 
without  fear  or  favor,  with  clean  hands  and  a  pure  heart,  places  honest  men 
in  positions  of  trust,  and  permits  no  selfish  interest  to  mar  his  integrity, 
public  confidence  will  be  strong,  and  the  people  contented  and  peaceful. 

But  when  justice  is  saleable  to  the  highest  bidder,  when  wealthy  indivi- 
du.als,  or  powerful  corporations  can  bend  courts  to  their  will,  and  subsidize 
a  legislature,  and  terrify  or  cajole  a  governor;  when  corrupt  rings  make 
laws  by  bargain  and  sale,  for  the  gain  of  the  few  by  the  loss  of  the  many  ; 
when  venomous  snakes  lurk  under  the  ambiguous  phrases  of  statutes,  and 
governors  count  the  loss  or  gain  of  votes  or  gold  before  they  sign  a  bill,  or 
pardon  a  criminal,  or  appoint  an  applicant  to  office  ;  the  people  will  lose 
confidence  in  courts  which  have  ceased  to  be  dispensers  of  justice,  and  in 
laws  which  are  neither  just  nor  equitable;  and  in  magistrates  who  have 
itching  pilms,  and  in  Government  which  commands  no  respect  and  deserves 
none. 

These  are  two  possible  conditions  of  a  Commonwealth  ;  and  it  is  the  duty 
of  every  Christian  citizen  to  do  all  in  his  power  to  establish  the  first,  and  to 
prevent  the  second. 

Every  good  citizen  will  labor  for  the  maintenance  of  civil  order  and  a 
pure  administration  of  justice.  It  is  not  enough  that  he  is  not  a  law-breaker  ; 
he  must  take  care  that  others  are   not.     If  good  men   refuse  to   prosecute 


124  MINUTES   OF   CONVENTION. 

wrong  doers,  or  to  appear  in  court  as  witnesses  against  them,  lest  damage  be 
done  to  their  property  or  violence  to  their  persons,  the  rights  of  every  citi- 
zen will  be  at  the  mercy  of  the  dangerous  classes  and  crime  will  soon  hold  a 
carnival. 

Doubtless  a  man  may  be  a  good  citizen  without  being  a  Christian  ;  but  the 
duty  of  a  Christian  citizen  to  the  Commonwealth,  while  it  may  have  no  wider 
scope  than  that  of  any  other  citizen,  is  of  a  higher  order,  and  is  enforced  by 
more  solemn  obligations.  The  fear  of  God  constrains  him  ;  the  love  of  men 
animates  him  ;  a  consciousness  of  his  accountability  as  a  moral  being  impels 
him.  No  self-seeking  policy,  no  desire  for  popularity,  no  ambition  for  honor 
or  power,  are  his  governing  motives.  His  aim  is  to  serve  God  and  do  good 
to  men. 

In  the  ancient  republics  the  individual  was  merged  in  the  State,  and  was 
the  property  of  the  State.  But  be  loved  his  owner  with  ardent  devotion  little 
short  of  idolatry.  Intense  patriotism  prompted  him  to  acts  of  self-sacrifice 
in  enterprises  often  as  unjust  as  they  were  heroic.  In  modern  Europe  the 
Government  is  the  State,  and  the  people  an  opposing  force  ;  the  one  tenacious 
,of  privilege  and  prerogatives,  founded  as  it  falsely  claims  on  Divine  Right ; 
the  other  clamorous  for  equal  rights,  and  elevation  from  the  condition  of 
subjects  to  the  dignity  of  citizens.  But  in  our  country  what  do  we  see? 
The  people,  makers  and  masters  of  the  State  ;  makers  of  the  constitution 
whioh  organizes  the  State  ;  makers  of  the  laws  which  regulate  the  State ; 
makers  of  the  judges  who  interpret  the  laws;  and  makers  of  the  magis- 
trates who  execute  them.  One  of  the  kings  of  France  said,  "Vetat,  c'est 
mot.'"  With  equal  emphasis  and  more  truth  the  American  people  can  say, 
"the  State,  that  is  ourselves;  "  and  every  citizen  has  the  proud  conscious- 
ness that  he  is  an  integrant  part  of  the  vast  organism. 

It  follows  that  our  Government,  from  its  very  constitution,  must  be  as  true 
an  exponent  of  the  morality,  as  of  the  intelligence  of  the  people.  We  *ay 
that  our  laws  are  the  expression  of  the  popular  will.  They  are  more.  They 
are  the  reflection  of  the  popular  conscience.  When  depraved  voters  have 
the  power,  they  will  elect  corrupt  legislators  and  magistrates,  and  these  will 
pervert  justice  to  dishonest  ends,  and  spread  more  widely  the  corruption  on 
which  they  feed  and  fatten,  until  they  sap  the  foundations  of  public  order, 
and  fill  the  land  with  fraud  and  violence.  It  is  therefore  the  obvious  duty  of 
every  Christian  citizen  to  exert  his  influence  at  the  primary  meetings  to  put 
honest  and  true  men  in  nomination  for  office,  and  to  vote  for  none  but  such 
at  the  polls.  The  security  of  our  civil  rights  demands  that  Christian  morality 
should  become  a  positive  force  in  our  public  affairs,  and  an  indispensable 
qualification  of  our  public  servants.  Without  this,  law  will  soon  become  a 
juggle  of  chicane;  legislation,  an  engine  of  public  robbery  ;  and  statesman- 
ship will  be  lost  ia  a  labyrinth  of  dishonest  and  time-serving  expedients. 

That  is  the  road  to  disorder,  anarchy  and  the  ruin  of  the  Commonwealth. 
Let  us  ask  the  solemn  question  whether  we  are  not  making  rapid  strides  in 
that  direction  ?  And  if  so, -.vhether  it  is  not  high  time  for  all  who  love  God 
and  their  country  to  unitf,  regardless  of  name  and  sect,  and  apply  the  reme- 
dy at  the  ballot-box  ? 


ESSAY    OF    W.  H.  ALLEN,  LL.  D.  125 

Next  in  importance  to  tlie  ballot-box  is  the  jury-box  ;  for  there  questions 
of  property,  reputation,  and  life,  are  decided.  The  most  precious  of  civil 
rights  is  the  right  of  life  ;  and  this  right  can  only  be  forfeited  by  crime. 
But  how  can  life  be  made  secure  unless  the  penalties  denounced  by  the  law 
are  inflicted  on  the  murderer  ?  If  a  Christian  escape  from  his  duty  as  a 
juror  by  the  declaration  that  he  has  formed  and  expressed  an  opinion  as  to 
the  guilt  or  innocence  of  the  prisoner,  and  that  no  testimony  can  change 
that  opinion,  he  confesses  himself  incompetent  to  weigh  the  facts  of  evidence. 
If  he  plead  conscientious  scruples  as  to  the  penalty  of  death,  he  assumes  a 
responsibility  which  does  not  belong  to  a  juryman  but  to  the  Commonwealth. 

His  duty  is  to  ascertain  whether  the  prisoner  is  guilty  in  manner  and  form 
as  charged  in  the  indictment.  He  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  manner  and 
form  of  the  punishment.     The  laws  provide  for  these. 

If  the  juror  permit  himself  to  be  so  far  moved  by  the  apparent  contrition 
of  the  prisoner,  or  by  the  tears  of  his  relatives,  as  to  lose  sight  of  the  victim 
who  cannot  appear  in  court  to  demand  justice  for  his  violated  rights,  he  sur- 
renders justice  to  undeserved  mei'cy,  and  ignores  his  obligation  to  the  Com- 
monwealth. Hig  duty  as  a  Christian  citizen  is  to  render  a  verdict  ac- 
cording to  the  evidence,  on  the  responsibility  of  his  oath,  biased  by  no 
prejudice,  no  favor,  no  love,  no  hatred,  no  hope,  no  fear.  The  absence  of 
this  stern  integrity  from  the  jury-box  in  recent  cases  of  note,  added  to  a  dis- 
position to  make  undue  allowance  for  provocations,  and  to  admit  a  demoniac 
thirst  for  revenge  as  proof  of  insanity,  has  so  far  disarmed  the  law  of  its 
terror  to  evil-doers,  that  a  modern  Cain  could  say,  not  "My  punishment  is 
greater  than  I  can  bear,"  but  "  Hanging  is  played  out." 

Perhaps  none  of  our  civil  rights  are  more  persistently  violated  at  the  pre- 
sent time  than  the  rights  of  labor.  To  learn  a  trade  and  pursue  it  for  a 
livelihood,  to  contract  for  such  wages  as  a  man  can  earn,  to  work  as  many 
or  as  few  hours  a  day  as  he  may  agree  to  work,  are  so  clearly  the  rights  of 
every  citizen  that  it  is  passing  strange  that  they  should  be  disputed,  and 
still  more  strange  that  any  one  should  voluntarily  surrender  them. 

It  is  admitted  that  men  of  all  occupations  have  a  legal  right  to  combine 
for  their  own  advantage,  provided  they  do  not  encroach  upon  the  rights  of 
others.  But  when-combinations  forbid  the  non-affiliated  to  work  for  a  livino- 
and  to  contract  for  such  wages  as  they  please  to  accept,  and  for  so  many 
hours  a  day  as  they  choose  to  work,  and  enforce  the  prohibition  by  social 
ostracism  or  physical  force ;  when  they  prevent  boys  learning  trades,  by 
prescribing  the  number  of  apprentices  an  employer  may  take  ;  when  they 
presume  to  regulate  the  business  of  their  employers  as  well  as  their  own, 
and  take  into  their  own  hands  the  management  of  capital  which  the  labor  of 
others  has  accumulated,  they  become  oppressive,  tyrannical  and  injurious  to 
the  Commonwealth.  It  is  the  duty  of  Christian  operatives  to  keep  aloof  from 
such  societies,  and  of  Christian  employers  to  resist  by  all  lawful  means  their 
aggressions  upon  civil  rights. 

Capital  and  labor  are  mutually  dependent.  Neither  can  be  made  produc- 
tive without  the  other.  They  are  natural  friends,  and  any  man  who,  for  sel- 
fish motives,  foments  discord  between  them,  commits  both  a  public  and  private 
wrong.     The  only  conflict  between  capital  and  labor  arises  from   the   claim 


126  MINUTES   OF   CONVENTION. 

which  both  parties  make  to  the  lion's  share  of  the  profits.  There  is  doubt- 
less injustice  on  both  sides;  for  each  takes  advantage  of  any  condition  of 
the  labor  market  which  favors  its  own  interest.  But  the  weapon  which  Libor 
arms  itself  with  in  its  contest  with  capital — that  is,  a  strike, — resembles  a 
sword  whose  hilt  is  as  sharp  as  its  blade,  and  which  wounds  him  who  wields 
it  as  surely  and  as  deeply  as  his  antagonist.  At  other  times  it  is  the  fellow 
of  the  unlucky  blunderbuss  of  Iludibras,  and — 

"The  gun  well  aimed  at  duck  or  plover, 
Bears  wide  and  kicks  its  owner  over." 

"  The  strike  "  is  a  foreign  importation  which  ought  never  to  have  been 
domesticated  on  American  soil,  nor  adopted  by  intelligent  freemen.  It  be- 
trays ignorance  of  the  simplest  axioms  of  public  economy,  and  of  the  laws  of 
production,  supply  and  demand.  It  is  bad  logic  and  bad  economy  for  labor 
to  destroy  or  paralyze  capital,  in  the  expectation  that  capital  will  p:iy  more 
wages.  It  is  as  absurd  as  the  old  way  of  collecting  debts  by  locking  up  the 
debtors  in  jail,  and  thus  depriving  them  of  the  ability  to  pay.  Many  years 
since,  in  a  neighboring  city,  a  mob  destroyed  some  thousands  of  barrels  of 
flour  because  the  price  was  high.  The  owner  simply  reminded  them  that  the 
price  of  an  article  can  never  be  reduced  by  its  destruction ;— a  truism  which 
the  most  ignorant  might  comprehend.  It  is  equally  plain  that  the  ability  of 
capital  to  pay  wages  cannot  be  increased  by  a  paralysis  of  the  industry  in 
which  it  is  invested. 

The  strikes  at  the  coal  mines  during  the  current  and  past  years,  inflicted 
on  the  miners  a  loss  of  several  millions  of  dollars  in  wages,  and  probably  an 
equal  loss  on  the  operators  whose  capital  lay  unproductive.  But  these  were 
not  the  only  losses.  The  strikes  diminished  the  production  of  coal  and  kept 
at  an  unnecessarily  high  price  an  article  of  prime  necessity.  All  consumers 
of  coal  suffered.  Manufacturing  and  transportation,  two  branches  of  indus- 
try in  whicli  coal  is  consumed  in  vast  quantities,  were  obliged,  in  self-de- 
fence, to  add  the  increased  cost  of  fuel  to  their  products  and  freights,  and  all 
classes  of  people  were,  and  arc  still,  compelled  to  pay  more  for  nearly  all 
the  necessaries  of  life,  than  tiicy  would  have  i)aid  had  the  price  of  coal  been 
five  or  six  dollars  a  ton  instead  of  seven  or  eiglit.  Now  wlicn  we  consider 
tiiatftU  producers  are  consumers,  and  that  the  strikers  themselves  must  also 
consume  while  they  cease  to  produce,  we  may  form  some  conception  of  the 
enormdus  loss  which  this  Commonwealth  and  the  country  has  sustained  iu 
consequence  of  these  strikes. 

I  have  referred  to  the  strikes  in  the  coal  regions  because  they  furnish  a 
consp'(;ui)Us  cx.implc,  and  the  public  detriment  tiiey  liave  caused  has  been 
great  and  widely  extended.  Ibit  a'l  .strikes  produce  similar  effects  within 
the  circle  of  their  influence.  If  unsuccessful,  they  advance  prices  in  conse- 
quence of  diminished  produclion;  and  if  successful,  tiicy  advance  prices  be- 
cause tlio  increased  cosi,  of  lal)or  must  be  added  to  tiie  price  of  the  articles 
wliicli  labor  proiluccs.  They  are  also  the  prolific  parents  of  a  succession  of 
Strikes,  for  they  place  other  working-men  at  a  disadvantage,  and  a  general 
advance  of  wages  becomes  inevitable.     It  is  impossible  for  wages  in  one  oo- 


ESSAY  OP   REV.  S.  H.  NESBITT,  D.D.  127 

cupation  to  continue  for  any  great  length  of  time  higher  than  in  others  which 
are  equally  agreeable  and  which  demand  equal  intelligence  and  sliill. 

In  consequence  of  this  action  and  reaction  between  wages  and  the  cost  of 
living,  the  working-man  soon  discovers  that  his  increased  wages  will  pur- 
chase no  more  of  what  he  consumes  than  before  the  advance  ;  and  that  the 
comforts  and  luxuries  which  he  can  command,  depend  upon  the  purchasing 
poivcr,  and  not  on  the  number  of  the  dollars  which  he  receives.  I  presume 
that  any  intelligent  mechanic,  or  factory  operative,  who  now  receives  three 
dollars  a  day,  will  admit  that  he  cannot  feed  and  clothe  himself  and  family 
any  better  than  when  years  ago  he  received  two  dollars  a  day, 

I  admit  that  part  of  this  result  is  due  to  the  depreciation  of  the  currency, 
and  pai-t  to  excessive  taxation  ;  but  these  will  not  account  for  the  whole, 
nor  for  more  than  half  of  the  advance  in  the  cost  of  living.  A  large  part  can 
be  accounted  for  in  no  other  way  than  the  forcing  up  of  wages  by  combina- 
tions, and  the  reaction  of  wages  on  the  prices  of  the  products  of  labor. 

It  is  plain  to  my  mind  that  intelligent  co-operation,  and  not  the  strike,  is 
the  remedy  which  promises  most  effectually  to  elevate  the  working  classes  to 
prosperity  and  independence;  but  as  my  time  has  expired,  I  waive  the  dis- 
cussion of  that  subject. 

Permit  me  to  say  in  conclusion  that  our  duty  to  the  Commonwealth,  is  part 
of  our  duty  to  God.  He  serves  God  best,  who  serves  best  his  fellow-men; 
and  we  have  the  power  to  serve  them  by  our  influence  on  legislation  and  ou 
the  choice  of  public  officers.  We  must  take  care  that  the  laws  shall  not  be  so 
framed  as  to  become  a  pretext  and  apology  for  wrong.  We  must  reject  with 
Bcorn  the  amphibious  morality  which  prescribes  one  code  for  public  officers, 
and  another  for  private  citizens.  Moral  distinctions  are  not  so  elastic.  They 
are  solid  as  the  foundations  of  the  earth ;  immovable  as  the  pillars  of  heaven. 
The  legislative  or  administrative  officer  who  would  repudiate  the  public 
debt,  is  a  dishonest  man;  and  if  he  could  and  dared,  he  would  repudiate  his 
own.  The  politician  who  joins  hands  with  robbers  for  public  plunder,  and 
in  whose  pockets  are  bribes  for  corrupt  legislation,  is  a  wicked  man:  and  so 
Boon  as  social  profligacy  shall  be  winked  at  as  political  profligacy  too  fre- 
quently is,  he  will  leap  forth  a  full  grown  villain  at  a  bound. 

The  Christian  must  recognize  the  law  of  God  as  the  supreme  law  of  the 
Commonwealth  ; — a  law  which  is  the  expression  of  immutable  justice : — a  law 
".whose  throne  is  the  bosom  of  God,  and  whose  voice  is  the  harmony  of  the 
world."  In  every  conflict  between  divine  and  human  law,  the  Christian 
must  answer  as  Peter  and  the  other  Apostles  answered  the  Jewish  Sanhedrim, 
*'We  ought  to  obey  God  rather  than  men." 

Essay  of  Rev.  S,  H.  Nesbitt,  D.D. 

DUTY  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  CITIZEN  TO  THE  S'J^TE. 

In  the  relations  of  the  State  to  morality  and  religion  are  bound  up  ques- 
tions, delicate,  important,  far-reaching,  and  whose  consideration  is  now 
challenging  the  attention  of  most  thoughtful  minds.  These  questions  are 
catalogued  among  the  objects  that  eame  within  the  scope  of  this  Methodist 


128  MINUTES  OF  CONVENTION. 

State  Convention,  that  they  may  be  restated  according  to  the  improved  ideas 
of  the  passing  present.  Let  us  advance  to  their  discussion  as  American  citi- 
zens, charged  with  the  trust  of  lieeping  the  spirit  of  civil  and  religious  liberty 
alive  in  the  world;  as  American  Methodists,  responsible  for-the  right  train- 
ing of  a  large  proportion  of  this  great  nation  ;  and  as  American  Protestants, 
co-laborers  with  all  other  evangelical  peoples  in  the  task  of  bringing  the 
world  back  to  God. 

Were  it  possible  to  conceive  of  a  State  sanctioning  bald  atheism  rather  than 
some  form  of  religion — commending  a  mere  negation  rather  than  a  system 
of  positive  morality — it  would  require  no  prophetic  afflatus  to  predict  its 
early  and  utter  disruption  and  ruin.  Atheism  tends  to  anarchy,  revolution, 
destruction;  and  its  votaries,  if  such  exist,  never  can  be  good  citizens.  But 
no  State,  unless  France  may  have  been  a  momentary  exception,  has  ever  ex- 
isted without  religion  of  some  sort.  Religion  is  a  necessity  of  the  State,  as 
well  as  of  the  individual.  This  is  especially  true  of  a  republic.  No  Govern- 
ment founded  upon  the  people  can  long  survive  the  wreck  of  public  virtue. 
Religion  must  ever  be  the  inspiration  of  its  best  and  truest  life — an  impalpa- 
ble atmosphere,  iuwrapping,  touching,  affecting  all  its  interests  ;  the  fruitful 
fountain  of  its  streams  of  civilization,  wealth,  knowledge,  liberty.  In  the 
State,  as  in  the  individual,  there  is  no  real  character  without  religion,  no 
substantial  prosperity,  no  desirable  growth.  A  wise  State,  therefore,  will 
never  permit  morality  and  religion  to  be  divorced  from  its  constitution  and 
laws,  or  extirpated  from  the  conscience  of  its  citizens.  The  act  would  be 
suicidal.     The  State  would  tumble  into  ruins. 

American  State  constitutions,  ancient  and  more  recent,  recognize  the  value 
of  religion  in  the  State,  and  provide  for  legislation  looking  to  its  maintenance 
and  protection.  In  this  they  are  not  peculiar.  Early  nations  made  religion 
a  chief  object  of  State,  as  in  the  ecclesiastico-political  economy  of  Judaism  ; 
or  as  in  the  worship  of  the  gods  enjoined  by  civil  enactments  throughout 
Kgypt,  Greece,  Persia,  and  Rome.  Later  nations  have  followed  this  old-time 
example,  providing  for  the  support  of  religion,  and  most  of  them  uniting  the 
Church  with  the  Slate.  But  our  American  constitutions  liere  adopt  a  policy 
peculiarly  their  own.  They  enjoin  morality  and  religion,  but  with  universal 
toleration.  They  protect  all  citizens  in  their  religious  views,  however  pecu- 
liar and  diversified,  but  inhibit  an  establishment  of  religion,  taxation  for  its 
support,  compulsory  attendance  on  religious  worship,  and  every  thing  tliat 
interferes  witii  the  most  perfect  freedom  of  conscience. 

Now,  what  religion  is  it  that  these  American  constitutions  enjoin?  Is  it 
bliiiik  Atiieism,  a  no-religion,  a  cold  abstraction,  a  mere  negation,  overarched 
with  a  lowering  sl;y  on  whose  broad  face  is  written  no  promise  of  good  to 
man?  No.  Is  it  .Mohammedanism,  Confucianism,  lioodiiism,  Bnihiuitiism,  or 
any  of  llie  multiplied  forms  of  PolYtiieisin?  No;  it  is  Christianity.  The 
founders  of  the  Republic  and  llie  framcrs  of  our  State  constitutions  could 
not  possilfly  have  had  anything  in  their  thoughts  but  Christianity  when  tiiey 
enjoined  religion  as  necessary  to  tlu;  public  weal. 

So  evident  is  this  that  it  has  been  maintained  by  eminent  judicial  decisions, 
as  in  Pennsylvania,  whose  Supremo  Court  has  decided  that  "Christianity  is 


ESSAY   OF   REV.  S.  11.  NESBITT,  D.D.  129 

part  of  the  common  law  of  the  Stnte."  Ohio,  flius  far,  is  the  only  Slate  in 
which  an  adverse  decision  has  been  made,  its  Supreme  Court  declaring  that 
"neither  Christianity  nor  any  other  system  of  religion  is  a  part  of  the  com- 
mon law  of  that  State."  But  recently,  in  direct  opposition  to  this,  the  Su- 
perior Court  of  Cincinnati  decided,  by  Judge  Ilagans,  that  "Christianity,  not 
in  the  sense  of  ecclcsiasticism,  is  the  prevailing  religion  of  the  State;  "  and 
by  .Judge  Stover,  that  "revealed  religion,  as  it  is  made  knoun  in  tlie  Holy 
Scriptures,  is  that  alone  that  is  recognized  by  our  Constitution,  and  has,  by 
a  long  series  of  legislative  enactments,  been  sustained  by  the  General  As- 
sembly." It  is  not  difficult  to  reconcile  these  conflicting  judicial  decisions. 
It  is  only  in  a  modified  sense  that  Christianity  is  a  part  of  that  common  law 
of  any  State — of  Pennsylvania,  of  Ohio,  of  the  United  States.  It  is  not  any 
whore  a  part  of  the  common  law  in  the  sense  that  a  violation  of  its  precepts 
is  an  indictable  offence,  except  where  those  precepts  are  incorporated  in  the 
civil  statutes,  as  in  the  case  of  blasphemy  and  the  desecration  of  the  Sabbath. 
But  it  is  part  of  the  common  law  in  the  sense  that  its  spirit  permeates  and 
affects  all  the  civil  statutes,  and  also  in  the  sense  that  it  is  the  only  religion 
referred  to  in  our  different  State  Constitutions.  Our  civilization,  our  laws, 
our  language,  our  customs,  the  very  atmosphere  that  embraces  us  in  its  im- 
pressible drapery,  are  all  Christian.  So  too  the  State.  Why  should  it  not  be 
so?  Christianity  is  the  highest  and  purest  morality.  It  embodies,  condenses, 
transcends  the  excellences  of  all  known  ethical  systems,  and  teaches  a  no- 
bler virtue  than  any  found  in  ancient  philosophy,  in  the  Vedas  of  India,  in 
the  Koran  of  Mohammed. 

The  first  duty  of  the  Christian  citizen  to  the  State  is  to  see  that  the  stan- 
dard of  morality  and  religion,  lifted  up  by  the  founders  of  the  Republic  and 
draped  about  our  Constitutions  and  laws,  shall  never  be  lowered.  It  is 
doubtful  whether  we  should  agitate  such  changes  in  our  National  Constitu- 
tion as  would  insert  in  that  grand  old  Magna  Charta  of  our  liberties  the 
names  God,  Christ,  and  the  Bible.  Here  we  may  dififer.  But  we  can  all 
stand  together  and  demand  that  no  profane  hands  shall  ever  be  allowed  to 
mutilate  the  standard  of  morality  and  religion  given  to  us  by  the  fathers  of 
the  Republic.  Let  us  mass  our  forces  here.  Let  us  oppose  forever  any 
emasculation  of  these  organic  laws,  and  send  them  forward  along  the  coming 
ages  to  bless  the  generations  that  shall  inultiply  upon  this  Continent.  They 
shall  stand.  No  sacrilegious  touch  shall  deface  them,  or  abate  their  force, 
or  lower  their  sanctity  ;  not  a  jot,  not  a  tittle. 

It  is  a  second  duty  of  the  Christian  citizen  of  the  State  to  see  that  the  in- 
terpretation put  upon  the  morality  and  religion  enjoined  by  our  Constitu- 
tions and  laws  shall  never  be  less  than  Christian.  That  was  clearly  the  in- 
tent of  the  framers  of  our  organic  laws,  as  the  Courts,  with  a  preponderating 
voice,  decide.  We  must  indorse  them,  and  insist  that  this  decision  shall  stand. 
Christianity  is  the  law,  but  not  in  an  oflFensive  sense,  of  our  various  Common- 
wealths and  of  those  United  States.  It  is  the  supreme  law,  establisheil  in 
harmony  with  the  utmost  liberty  of  conscience.  It  will  well  become  us  as 
Christian  citizens  to  see  that  it  is  the  acknowledged  law.  Here  again  we 
may  stand  together.     The  religion  enjoined   by  the   State,  so  far  as  ii  takes 

9 


ISO  Minutes  of*  coNVENTIo^r. 

any  particulflr  form,  is  Christian.  Let  this  fact  give  color  to  its  legislation, 
its  administration,  and  its  judicial  decisions. 

It  is  a  third  duty  of  the  Christian  citizen  to  the  State  to  promote  public 
virtue  ih  all  possible  ways  and  by  all  justifiable  means.  This  general  as- 
signment of  words  embraces  too  many  deparlments  of  labor  to  be  even  men- 
tioned in  detail  in  an  essaj-  of  twenty  minutes.  We  can  only  select  a  single 
class  of  duty  as  an  example  of  the  many.  It  is  the  most  imperative  duty  of 
the  hour  for  the  Christian  citizen  to  purify  politics,  and  to  seek  to  elevate 
to  places  of  trust  and  power  none  but  men  of  integrity  and  character.  Thi-? 
he  cannot  do  without  atteniling  all  elections,  and  especially  the  primary  ones, 
where  men  and  issues  receive  their  color  and  shaping.  Nor  can  ho  do  this 
if  he  is  an  utter  slave  to  party.  He  must  let  politicians  know  that  they  can- 
not be  sure  of  his  vote  unless  they  nominate  good  men  for  office.  Vet  we 
vindicate  political  parties.  They  are  as  important  in  the  State  as  denomina- 
tions are  in  the  Church.  Thoy  represent  opposing  policies  and  measures, 
and  bv  agitation  and  discussions  impart  new  impulses  to  political  science. 
Jjet  parties  then  continue  to  live  and  flourish.  But  morals  have  a  value 
superior  to  politics.  Religion  has  an  importance  in  the  State  that  a  tariff 
never  can  have.  And  politicians  ought  to  be  made  to  know  that  Christian 
citizens  will  not  always  accept  debauchees,  diunkards,  gamblers  as  candidates 
for  office,  simply  because  they  are  politically  right.  Tell  them  this,  and  re- 
peat the  admonition  in  word  and  deed  till  reformation  is  secured. 

It  is  the  fourth  duty  of  the  Christian  citizen  to  see  tliat  thr  moral  and  reli- 
gious sentiment  shall  not  be  divorced  from  education  in  tlie  people's  colleges. 
In  our  organic  laws  knowledge  and  religion  are  associated  together,  and 
recognized  as  pillars  of  the  State.  The  attempt  to  disunite  them,  and  to 
extirpate  religion  from  the  jnililic  schools,  is  a  fraud  upon  literature,  and 
impeaches  the  wisdom  of  the  age.  Here  is  work  for  the  Christian  citizen,  to 
prevent  our  public  schools  from  becoming  godless,  to  see  that  tlio  blessed 
volume  of  our  faith  is  not  banished  from  them,  and  so  to  counteract  schemes 
lh;it  must  prove  subversive  of  llie  Republic  and  its  institulioiis. 

It  is  a  fifih  duty  of  the  Christian  cili/.en  to  the  State  to  keep  himself  e(iual 
to  the  higliest  demands  of  tlie  Slate  upon  him  as  a  moral  agent.  Tiiis  re- 
quires in  him  perpetual  self-improvement,  a  constant  cultivation  not  only  of 
the  intellect,  but  of  the  moral,  the  spiritual  nature,  as  well.  To  cxali  talent 
above  virtue,  tolrain  the  intellect  and  neglect  the  lieart,  does  not  furnish  the 
brightest  endowment  for  good  citizenship.  Greatness  of  eliaiacter  sjtrings 
chiefly  from  force  of  soul  ;  and  eminent  fitness  i'm  llie  iliiliis  that  we  owe  to 
our  country  arises  more  from  moral  than  from  niiMilal  worlli.  Cultivated 
Ciiristian  intellect  is  the  safest  as  well  as  the  mightiest  force  tiiat  leaves  its 
traceries  on  tiie  face  of  society:  the  tlmrouglily  relialilo  as  well  as  tlic  moet 
penetrating  and  imperishable.  Tlie  men  of  mark  in  every  age  are  such  as 
consult  llic  jiiiblic  good.  In  ihcir  thoughts  man  is  great  as  man,  and  his 
well-being  and  improvement  are  iield  to  be  the  great  end  of  thought  anil  toil. 
They  embody  in  tlieir  own  liislory  the  words  of  Infinite  Wisdom :  "  Wo  live 
not  for  ourselves."  It  is  such  a  spirii  tluii  endows  us  for  the  higliest  citizen- 
hip  ;  that  makes  the  Wycliffs  and    Asburys,  the  Millons   and   Washingtons, 


ADDRESS   OF   JUDOE   M'CALifONT.  131 

Ihe  Wilberforces  and  Henry  Martyns,  of  every  age,  and  that  has   added  in 
our  age  the  name  of  Abraham  Lincoln  to  the  list  of  eartlily  immortals. 

Hon.  IT,  L.  lliclimond,  on  behalf  of  the  Committee,  offered 
the  following  resolutions,  viz.: 

Resolred,  I.  Tliat  in  a  Government  like  ours  the  people  are  responsible  for 
the  character  of  their  laws,  for  they,  through  their  representatives  whom 
they  elect,  make  them. 

Resoh'eil,  2.  Tliat  to  pnrify  the  Statute  Book,  we  mn^i  purify  tlie  ballot- 
box,  and  withhold  our  suffrages  from  men  morally  unfit  for  office. 

Kesoli'cd,  3.  Tliat  while  we  recognize  the  necessity  that,  in  a  Government 
like  ours,  parties  should  exist,  yet  no  party  has  a  riglil  to  command  uncon- 
ditionally any  man's  vote,  and  that  we  owe  fealty  to  partv,  just  so  far,  and 
no  farther,  as  party,  in  the  selection  of  its  candidates,  shows  its  fealty  to 
virtue,  integrity,  intelligence,  Christian  morality,  and  fitness  for  the  po- 
sition. 

Rev.  Dr.  IToncsoN — T  am  prepared  at  once  to  vote  for  these  resolutions, 
but  not  without  sonic  little  questioning  of  some  of  the  doctrines  to  whicli  wo 
have  listened.  I  do  not  know  where  the  State  enjoins  religion,  or  what  reli- 
gion the  Slate  enjoins.  I  do  not  know  how  I  am  going  about  resisting  any 
attempt  at  lowering  the  standard  of  religion  which  the  State  has  supplied.  I 
never  knew  the  State  exacted  of  me  that  I  should  be  religious  farther  than 
that  I  should  observe  its  laws.  I  should  like  a  little  more  light  upon  this 
subject.  Farthermore,  I  have  to  learn  tluit  the  State  intends  to  teach  reli- 
gion in  her  common  schools.  If  she  does  I  think  she  ouglit  to  be  a  littlo 
more  particular  about  the  priests  of  her  religion.  I  think  they  ought  to  un- 
dergo some  examination  in  regard  to  their  religious  views,  to  have  some  en- 
dorsement. 1  think  we  need  some  colleges  to  prepare,  religiously  and  theo- 
logically, the  priests  of  the  State — the  State  teachers  of  religion. 

Judge  McCalmont — I  coincide  with  the  resolutions,  although  I  don't  be- 
lieve that  the  State  will  particularly  train  us  in  a  religious  way.  I  don't 
understand  that  we  arc  going  to  dictate  or  to  say  to  anybody  that  they  are 
going  to  form  our  religious  life.  I  think,  witli  the  Doctor,  indeed,  I  know, 
that  Methodist  society  is  sufBoient  for  me.  It  gives  me  all  the  occupation  I 
want  outride  of  my  family,  so  far  as  public  meetings  are  concerned;  so,  in 
that  respect,  I  am  in  accord  with  the  Doctor. 

But  there  is  a  sort  of  Christianity  underlying  the  State,  and  so-much  so 
that  I  believe  Aristotle  and  Plato  had  some  scintillations  of  it ;  and  the  re- 
marks about  Christianity  being  a  part  of  the  common  law  are  very  correct. 
Judges,  not  Churches,  have  announced  it,  and  they  have  been  the  strong  up- 
holders of  law  and  the  most  efficient  co-operators  of  the  Church  in  putting 
down  blasphemy  in  public ;  and  they  are  men  of  fixed  religious  character 
generally,  even  though  not  members  of  the  Church.  But  when  we  say  Chris- 
tianity is  a  part  of  the  common  law,  we  do  not  mean  its  teachings  are  in- 
corporated specifically,  but  we  do  say  they  are  part,  not  only  of  common  law, 
but  of  the  statute  law.  And  llie  common  law  is  in  perfect  conformity,  too, 
with  our  holy  religion.  Wiiat  law  of  nature  teaches  me  to  take  care  of  my 
poor  neighbor?     It  teaches  me,  you  may  say,  to  take  care  of  my  poor  child 


132  MINUTES   OF   COXVEXTION. 

or  father,  but  what  dictate  of  nature  will  teach  me  to  take  care  of  my  poor 
enemy  or  neighbor  with  whom  I  have  no  sympathy?  And  yet,  in  our  public 
laws,  provision  is  made  for  taking  care  of  them.  Provision  is  made  in  our 
lavf's  for  taking  care  of  everybody  that  cannot  take  care  of  themselves.  And 
this  runs  through  our  law.  Tliis  principle  runs  farther  through  the  law  than 
3'ou  may  tliink  for.  Take  a  mechanic's  lien.  You  mny  say,  What  has  that 
to  do  with  Christianity?  Let  us  see.  You  must  see  that  the  man  wlio  fur- 
nishes j-our  sand  and  lime,  etc.,  is  paid.  The  State  requires  this.  Now,  is 
there  any  law  of  reason  for  it  except  you  find  it  in  the  spirit  of  Christianity? 
It  is  as  I  heard  Judge  Pearson  say  on  a  question  of  damages,  in  the  case  of 
a  man  who  fell  into  a  sewer,  "Well,  I  can't  give  you  any  rule  except  yon 
must  apply  the  Golden  Rule." 

This  spirit  permeates  our  laws.  The  Constitution  of  the  United  States 
guarantees  to  every  man  the  right  to  worship  God  according  to  the  dictates 
of  his  own  conscience,  and  in  tliis  State  of  William  Penn  Christianity  is 
distinctly  recognized.  Altliough  the  Constitution  of  this  State  does  not 
recognize  it  any  farther  tlian  tlie  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  yet  it  is 
in  the  early  laws;  and  all  down  from  that  time  to  this  it  permeates  the 
common  law. 

T.  W^  Price,  Esq. — Before  the  vote  is  taken  on  the  resolution  under  con- 
sideration I  take  the  liberty  of  suggesting  a  few  thoughts,  and  especially  as 
they  were  elaborated  in  the  first  essay.  Tliey  were  all  good,  but  I  desire  to 
say  a  few  words  in  regard  to  the  first,  as  th;it  touclied  upon  what  I  recog- 
nize as  the  immediately  practical  part  of  this  business — the  dutyof  the  Chris- 
tian to  the  State.  I  need  not  say  to  that  portion  of  the  audience  living  in 
Philadelpliia  tliat  I  am  sometliiiig  of  a  politician — a  politician,  liowever,  that 
never  asked  for,  and  never  saw  the  day  tliat  I  would  accept,  a  public  office; 
and  I  don't  believe  the  day  will  ever  come  that  I  will  be  willing  to  take  a 
public  oflice  ;  and  yet,  sir,  scarcely  an  election  has  been  held  in  the  last 
twenty  years  tliat  I  iiave  not  given  that  day  to  tlie  election,  eitlier  as  an  offi- 
cer inside  or  standing  outside  with  an  iiproii.  ami  liauding  out  tickets.  My 
idea  in  reganl  to  the  duty  of  the  Christian  to  the  State  is  this,  that  every 
man  sliould  feel  that  the  responsibility  of  good  government  rests  upon  his 
slioulders,  and  he  siiould  act  as  tliough  he  were  wholly  and  entirely  responsi- 
ble for  the  Gondii  ion  of  tlie  public  morals  SO  far  as  laws  and  l  heir  administra- 
tion are  concerned. 

Now,  sir,  tlie  fact  in  tlie  case,  in  regard  to  the  political  condition  of  tilings 
in  this  Stale,  is  absolulely  frightful— /'/v///(//"(//.'  1  was  thinking  during  tlie 
reading  of  the  first  essay  of  llie  inlii.il  (•(Hiditiiui  df  things  in  regard  Id  the 
inenibers  of  the  Legislature  (ami  this  bciing  a  State  Convention  we  may  pro- 
perly talk  of  Stale  matters).  I  was  tiiinking  of  the  seventeen  members  of 
the  Legislature  just  eleete<l  from  this  city.  They  are  substantially  Iho  men 
that  were  I  Iiitc  last  year  and  iIk'  year  befure,  and  siuim"  <>{'  i  linn  I  he  year  be- 
fore tliat,  ami  before  tiiat  again ;  and  I  will  iinlerlake  to  say  lli.'il  not  more 
than  five  of  tliem  come  up  to  llic  average  of  intelligence  or  probity. 

Now,  Hint  is  a  fearful  slatcmcnt  to  make;  and  yet  I  have  no  doiilit  of  its 
entire  t.  utiifulness.     Of  the  other  twelve,  some  of  them  are  notorious  gam- 


ADDRESS   OF  T.    W.    PRICE,    ESQ.  133 

biers  and  profligates  of  (he  worst  possible  description  that  curse  this  com- 
munity, engaged  in  nearly  all  the  fearful  broils  that  take  place  in  our  midst. 
And  yet,  these  men  are  elected,  year  after  year,  and  year  after  year,  witii 
scarcely  the  semblance  of  opposition. 

So  fearful  is  this  state  of  things  that  it  is  almost  as  much  as  you  can  expect 
to  get  a  man  nominated  (because,  after  all,  there  is  where  the  work  is  done) 
in  either  party  for  the  Legislature,  that  has  any  claim  to  respectability,  that 
anybody  believes  intends  to  be  honest  when  he  gets  to  Ilurrisbui-g.  Why, 
sir,  such  is  tlie  condition  of  things  in  our  Legislature  that  they  make  no  sort 
of  secret,  it  is  as  clearly  and  publicly  known,  that  they  are  paid  for  the  legisla- 
tion enacted — the  great  bulk  of  it — as  the  fact  that  they  go  to  Harrisburg  to 
attend  to  legislation  :it  all. 

Now,  we  say  these  things  must  be  regulated  at  the  ballot-box.  But,  un- 
fortunately, it  is  getting  as  bad  in  this  city  as  in  New  York,  where  the  ballot- 
box  is  recognized  as  simply  a  farce.  It  don't  really  mean  anything  at  all ; 
it  is  simply  a  confii'mation  of  the  previously  doteruiiued  action  of  a  society 
known  as  Tammany  ;  and  the  elections  in  this  city  are  becoming  very  little 
better. 

Now,  what  is  the  remedy?  I  hold  that  the  religious  people  of  this  Com- 
monwealth are  responsible  for  this  condition  of  things.  I  say,  sir,  that  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  forming  a  very  large  portion  of  this  State,  is 
very  largely  responsible  for  this  state  of  things.  Why,  sir,  we  are  too  reli- 
gious to  be  good  citizens  ;  too  respectable  ;  too  busy.  For  I  hold  sir,  the 
man  is  not  a  good  citizen  who  does  not  do  all  he  can  to  protect  the  Govern- 
ment in  its  parity ;  and  the  man  that  does  not  watch,  as  well  as  pray,  in  re- 
gard to  the  primary  electons  and  caucuses,  does  not  till  up  the  measure  of 
his  duty  as  a  good  citizen. 

Why,  sir,  it  is  a  remarkable  thing  to  see  a  man  holding  an  official  relation 
in  the  Church,  with  an  apron  on,  on  election  day.  You  look  at  him  with 
amazement.  Tliis  ought  not  so  to  be.  Now,  I  know  son»ething  of  the  politi- 
cians of  this  city,  and  I  undertake  to  say  that  they  are  the  veriest  cowards 
on  the  face  of  the  earth,  and  that  good  men  in  almost  any  locality  can  frighten 
them  out  of  their  wits. 

Now,  what  is  our  duty,  as  citizens,  to  the  State?  Why,  sir,  we  must  either 
change  this  condition  of  things,  or  God  Himself  can  hardly  save  this  Com- 
monwealth, ami  He  won't  do  it  if  we  don't  do  our  duty  ;  we  have  no  right  to 
expect  it.  I  regret,  sir,  that  we  haven't  a  Convention  to  talk  of  just  such 
things  as  these,  beciuse,  to  my  mind,  it  is  a  frightful  consideration  that  the 
legislation  of  this  great  State  is  in  the  hands  of  bad  men — men  that  we  would 
not  trust  witli  our  private  affairs,  or  with  our  business;  men  with  whom  we 
would  not  associate;  and  yet,  year  after  year,  they  are  sent  with  a  distinct 
and  clear  public  acknowledgment  that  tliey  go  there  not  to  make  laws  for  the 
benetit  of  the  people,  but  to  make  all  the  money  they  can  out  of  special  legis- 
lation. 

I  heard  it  stated  at  a  meeting  of  the  citizens  that  the  legislation  of  the 
Commonwealth  in  the  last  three  years  amounted  to  over  four  thousand  pages, 
and  yet  legislation  for  the  citizens  amounted   to   about  two  hundred   pages  ; 


134  MINUTES   OF    CONVENTION. 

and  still  we  send  these  gamblers  and  riotous  and  illiterate  men  over  and  over 
again  to  do  just  this  thing.  There  must  be  an  end  to  it.  As  a  good  citizen 
said  to-day,  it  is  the  people  of  this  Commonwealth  that  must  put  an  end  to 
it  by  giving  a  little  of  their  attention  to  their  country. 

Col.  Cummings — I  think  we  shall  certainly  be  better  citizens  for  this  Con- 
vention ;  we  certainly  ought  to  be.  ^Ye  have  heard  enough  to  make  us  very 
much  better  if  we  act  upon  what  we  have  heard.  And  yet,  some  things  have 
been  said  to-night  to  which  I  cannot  give  my  hearty  assent.  It  is  a  very 
general  belief — and  the  reason  why  I  take  issue  with  it  now,  it  having  been 
embodied  in  one  of  these  able  papers,  is  because  at  the  bottom  is  a  source  of 
niisconjecture  that  we  have  heard  tonight.  It  has  been  proclaimed  that 
party  organizations  in  this  country  are  necessary  to  it.  I  desire  to  say  here, 
sir — and  record  the  expression  as  my  firm  conviction — that  the  parties  in 
this  country,  from  the  beginning  until  this  hour,  have  been  its  very  bane, 
its  curse.  I  mean  that  exactly,  without  qualiiication.  I  mean  that  there  has 
been  no  good  in  them  as  parties.  They  have  led  to  all  the  corruption  of 
which  we  have  heard,  to  all  the  violations  of  law.  It  is  parties  that  induce 
respectable  citizens  to  sanction  violation  of  the  laws.  The  members  of  each 
party  will  screen  their  associates.  We  have  seen  it.  I  venture  to  say  that, 
taking  the  question  of  elections,  the  ballot-bos,  the  source  of  our 
power  for  good  or  ill,  either  elevating,  or  else,  like  Pandora's  box,  be- 
coming our  curse,  I  say  there  has  not  been  for  years,  in  this  city,  an  elec- 
tion where  there  has  been  a  motive  for  a  contest.  It  has  been  a  continual 
contrivance  how  the  greatest  frauds  could  be  perpetrated  by  either 
side  against  the  olher.  Why  need  we  conceal  this?  What  makes  parties 
necessary  ?  It  was  not  so  in  the  beginning,  when  the  country  was  first  set- 
tled ;  not  until  men  began  to  learn  mischief  were  they  organized.  This  the 
speaker  illustrated  by  a  historical  incident. 

Rkv.  E.  W.  Kiubv — I  think,  sir,  we  are  not  so  much  to  complain  of  par- 
ties as  politicians.  I  don't  believe,  sir,  that  tliis  Government  could  be  car- 
ried on  without  these  party  organizations,  but  politicians  have  been  the  banc 
of  this  land.  It  is  a  well-known  fact  that,  when  you  attempt  to  attach  to 
either  of  the  i)olilical  parties  :inytliing  tliat  will  even  lielp  their 
moral  character,  politicians  are  very  apt  to  step  in  and  treat  the  matter 
very  cautiously.  Tliey  tell  us  that  we  ought  to  be  careful  how  we  introduce 
this,  tint,  and   tlie    otiier. 

A  good  de:il  lias  been  said  here  to-day  about  tlie  public  school  question.  I 
don't  (hink  we  have,  as  citizens,  so  inuch  to  fear  from  tlic  Tloman  Catholic 
Church  at  iliat  point  as  from  politiciiius  that  watch  this  matter.  If  you  go 
to  the  city  of  New  York  you  will  find  politicians  liave  manipulated  tiiis  wliolo 
matter  IVmn  licginning  to  end.  'I'lic  Ifoiniin  Catholic  (Jhurcli  Iiave  said  to 
them:  "Give  nn  .Sl'iO.OOO  ami  we  will  give  you  our  votes."  And  if  we  were 
to  trace  this  matter  fartlier  we  should  fiml  that  politicians,  not  parties,  have 
been  tlie  l)anc  of  every  republican  Government. 

And  while  up  I  desire  to  spcali  witli  regard  to  llie  duly  of  tlio  citizen  to 
this  Government.      1  would  like  to  have  asked,  when  you  spoke  of  tiio  Chris- 


REPORT   OF   COMMITTEE   OX    NEXT   CONVENTION.       135 

tian  citizen  attending  the  primary  elections,  the  nominating  conventions,  the 
places  where  this  work  is  done,  if  the  Christian  minister  is  expected  to  do 
that  work  :  and  would  like  to  know  whether  you  will  not  gay  of  the  Chris- 
tian ministry,  that  they  arc  preaching  politics. 

Further,  I  would  like  to  know  if  you  would  like  to  have  your  min- 
ister go  with  you  into  nominating  conventions,  to  assist  in  carrying  on  tiiis 
political  machinery.  I  must  say  I  think  the  theory  presented  here  to-nigjit 
not  altogether  correct. 

The  vote  was  here  taken  on  the  resohitions,  and  they  were 
adopted. 

Rev.  T.  a.  Fernley,  of  the  Corainittee  appointed  to  con- 
sider the  expediency  of  holding  another  Convention,  presented 
the  following  report: 

The  Committee  to  whom  was  referred  the  matter  of  holding  another  State 
Convention,  after  due  consideration,  beg  leave  to  present  the  following  for  the 
action  of  the  Convention. 

We  regard  the  present  meeting  of  the  Methodists  of  the  State  of  Pennsyl- 
vania as  having  proven  itself  a  gratifying  success,  and  believe  it  will  result 
in  profit  to  the  Church  and  to  the  cause  of  Christ. 

In  view  of  this,  we  present  the  following  : 

Resolved,  1.  That  another  Methodist  State  Convention  be  held  the  latter 
part  of  October,  or  in  the  early  part  of  November,  1871. 

Resolved.  2.  That  a  Commission  of  two,  one  of  whom  shall  be  a  minister 
and  one  a  l?yman,  be  appointed  from  each  Conference  in  tiie  State,  to  whom 
shall  be  committed  the  fixing  of  the  precise  date,  as  well  as  the  place,  where 
said  Convention  shall  be  held,  and  to  make  all  necessary  arrangements  for 
the  same. 

Dr.  Loomis  saw  no  occasion  for  holding  another  Convention. 

Judge  Richmond — If  I  were  to  judge  from  my  own  feelings  I  could  not 
hesitate  for  a  moment  in  settling  the  question  in  my  own  mind.  I  am  satis- 
fied that  great  good  will  grow  out  of  these  Conventions  so  long  as  conducted 
in  the  spirit  in  which  this  Convention  has  been  conducted.  I  am  in  favor 
of  adopting  the  report  of  the  Committee. 

Dii.  Dasuiell — I  would  like  to  suggest  that  we  submit  to  a  Commission  of 
two  the  propriety  of  holding  another  Convention. 

Rev.  I.  H.  Torrexce  was  favorable  to  holding  another  Convention  on  ac- 
count of  its  influence  on  the  community. 

Rev.  W.  J.  Paxson  moved  to  strike  out  "  71"  and  insert  73. 

The  amendment  did  not  prevail. 


136  MINUTES   OF   CONVENTION. 

The  report  of  the  Committee  was  then  adopted  without 
amendment. 

Judge  McCalmont  moved  that  the  President  appoint  the 
Commission  and  announce  them  through  the  papers.     Carried. 

The  Committee  on  Statistics  reported  through  Rev.  I.  H. 
Torrence,  that  they  had  made  such  additions  to  their  report  as 
had  been  furnished  them,  which  were  very  meagre. 

On  motion,  the  Convention  adjourned  sine  die. 

Prior  to  dismissins:  the  audience  the  President  said  : 


'to 


Bishop  Simpson's  Closing  Speech. 

I  desire  to  express,  as  I  have  no  doubt  those  associated  with  me  would  join 
me  in  doing,  our  thanks  to  the  Convention  for  the  courtesy  shown  to  the  pre- 
siding officers;  and  I  trust  that,  in  returning  to  your  homes,  you  may  carry 
with  you,  dear  brethren,  wherever  you  niiiy  be,  increased  love  for  the  cause 
of  Christ,  and  a  determination  to  work  for  the  interests  of  the  Church  to 
which  we  owe  so  much.  And  as  a  result  of  this  Convention  1  hope  that  the  minds 
of  delegates  will  be  turned  to  what  can  be  done.  You  have  thought  of  the 
Church,  its  interests,  its  relations  to  society;  all  these  have  come  up  before 
us  in  various  ways.  And  now  I  trust  you  will  study,  during  the  time  to 
come,  what  can  be  done  to  put  our  institutions  on  a  broader  basis,  and  to 
develop  them  so  that  they  will  have  increased  power.  Much  may  be  done 
yet  in  Pennsylvania.  We  have  a  goodly  heritage.  I  was  struck  with  the 
fact  that  the  population  of  Pennsylvania  is  just  about  equal  to  the  population 
of  the  whole  six  New  England  States.  Tliey  are  in  advance  of  us  in  many 
things,  though  they  have  struggled  in  Methodistic  operations;  and  when  we 
look  at  the  Conferences  around  us,  the  States  around  us,  we  shall  find  some 
useful  suggestions,  I  tliink.  And  I  wish  that,  where  there  are  men  of  wealth 
in  your  neighborhoods,  you  would  suggest  to  them  the  propriety  of  setting 
apart  a  portion  of  their  wealth  for  establishing  ou  a  broader  basis  our  lite- 
rary institutions.     This  1  trust  tlioy  will  do. 

I  should  like  if  wc  could  plan  Sdincthing  vastly  greater  than  we  have  yet 
had,  and  also  to  found  our  orplian  institutions  and  Homes,  and  endow  them 
willi  a  greater  amount  of  means.  I  confess  frankly  to  you  there  has  floated 
llirough  my  mind  somehow  in  the  past,  and  I  dream  now,  that  somewhere 
here  in  Pciinsylvania,  possibly  l)etween  tiiis  city  and  Baltimore,  somewhere 
on  these  great  thoroughfares,  will  yet  spring  up  a  realization  of  the  thoughts 
that  rested  in  the  minds  of  Coke  and  Asbtiry  when  tliey  met  together  to 
plant  tlie  first  Metliodist  College  in  the  United  States;  and  I  have  somotimcs 
liiouglit  thai,  possibly  before  the  century  closes,  from  tlic  aslics  of  old 
Abingdon,  or  some  point  rinnid  it,  will  rise,  with  more  tlian  its  former 
glory,  the  institution    whicii  sliall  be  u  credit  to    our  Metho  lism  and   realize 


BISHOP  Simpson's  closing  address.  137 

the  thoughts  .and  prayers  of  the  old  fathers  of  the  Church.  I  think 
there  is  money  enough,  and  I  can  scarcely  drive  away  from  my  mind  the 
conviction  that  the  prayers  and  efforts  of  those  old  fathers  of  the  Church  are 
not  to  be  set  aside  by  the  torch  of  the  incendiary  ;  not  to  be  buried  forever 
by  the  opposition  of  enemies;  but  that,  in  renewed  form,  though  years  have 
passed,  and  generations  have  gone,  old  thoughts  will  yet  germinate  and 
bring  forth  fruit,  and  that  our  children  will  sit  under  the  shadow  of  liiose  in- 
stitutions which  yet  shall  grace  our  land.  It  may  be  a  dream,  a  fancy,  but 
T  do  think  there  is  something  like — I  will  not  say  retribution,  for  that  is  not 
the  idea,  but  God  working  out  grand  results  from  the  old  ideas  that  seem  to 
have  passed  away,  ^nd  that  where  good  men  have  labored  and  sown  the  seed, 
though  it  should  lie  dormant  as  long  as  the  grains  of  wheat  in  the  pyramids 
and  catacombs  of  Egypt,  tiie  sunlight  will  make  the  seed  germinate  and  pro- 
duce an  abundant  harvest.  Be  that  as  it  may,  much  yet  remains  to  be  done 
in  Pennsylvania  ;  and  Pennsylvania  tninisters  and  laymen,  who  love  the 
Methodist  Church,  have  only  to  communicate  their  thoughts  to  each  other, 
to  awaken  the  sympathies  of  eiich  other,  and  join  hand  and  heart  together, 
to  make  our  Methodism  more  glorious  than  it  ever  has  been.  Gnd  grant  we 
may  see  it  very  speedily  extending  over  and  blessing  the  land. 
Let  us  now  join  with  glad  hearts  in  singing: 

"Praise  God  from  whom  all  blessings  flow." 

The  Convention  rose  and  sang  the  doxology,  and  were  dis- 
missed with  the  benediction  by  Bishop  Simpson. 


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